Monsters
by Aarnael
Summary: A lonely violet eye stared out into the world, defiance bleeding away into hope even as its twin sat dead in its socket, a great scar spanning the chasm as his dead eye stared out, its milky depths blind to the world. Though half blind, horribly wounded, and near dead from blood loss, that did not stop him from clutching a kunai tightly in his bloodied hand...
1. The Prodigal son

Night of the kyuubi attack...

Kushina Uzumaki stared down at her newborn son, so small and innocent as he lay naked in his stone manger, blissfully unaware of the sacrifices being forced upon him. He would be hated, of that she was sure, she knew first hand the distrust that jinchuriki's faced from those they safeguarded from the monsters sealed into their bodies, the simple fear of it escaping is what drove away those they would otherwise call friend. But he, Naruto, her little sun, her darling boy, her world, her baby would be _Hated_. Konoha knew the wrath of the king of the Bijuu, how could they ever forget the devastation that the lord of demons wrought upon them at this very moment, even two generations of Hokage along with the support of the three legendary Sannin could barely hold it back from what little remained of the city of Konohagakure, the village hidden in the leaves, the first hidden village, the strongest of the villages with the Hokage at the helm as the mightiest of them all, now in ruins.

Kushina could feel the arms of her Husband wrap around her, a man who now cared little for anything outside of safety of the village, and she knew her time was up, she was soon to die. Killed by the very beast she had long imprisoned, she could almost laugh at the poetic justice, but now wasn't the time for laughter or poetry. Kushina steeled her resolve, and refused to look away from the face of her child. Kushina Uzumaki regretted many things, marrying Minato, running from her home of Uzugakure when it needed her, leaving her family behind to be slaughtered, But as she lived and breathed she would never regret giving birth to Naruto.

Kushina felt it the moment her husbands body was pierced by the massive claw of the Kyuubi, but she didn't care, just as she knew he wasn't trying to protect her, simply using her body as a secondary shield should his own fail, she didn't care about that either. No, all she cared about was the fact that her boy, moments before, had opened his eyes, shinning pools of glittering, glistening, amethyst that shone with the unbridled happiness as the boy saw his mother for the first time, the wide toothless smile on his face matched by the ruby lips of his mother as tears poured from her own amethysian gemstones as he reached up with his chubby little arms. She felt many things for Naruto at that moment; Pride for the intelligence of boy she brought into the world, recognizing his mother on sight, Joy at how beautiful and healthy he was, the love of a mother, the sorrow that she would never watch him grow or hear him call her mama, pain for the burden placed on him by her inability to cage the Kyuubi, but regret?

No. Even as she felt the claw begin to pierce her back, she felt no regret for what she was about to do to protect her son, her little sun, her darling boy, her world, her light. Even as she felt the imminent demise of her own flickering flame of her mortality, she would not turn away from the smiling face of her light, his eyes glowing and his hair shining like blood in the candle light.

That is...Until Minato was suddenly yanked away before the claw could go more than an few millimeters into her back, throwing Kushina in the opposite direction and leaving her back sliced from center to shoulder as she was flung into the air, screaming for her son.

***][***

Eighteen years later...

Kotetsu Hagane and his partner Izumo Kamizuki frowned up at the night sky as thunder tore though the silence of the evening.

"It seems that rain is in our future, Kotetsu." Izumo muttered to his friend as it began to drizzle. Kotetsu snorted in irritation.

"What gave you that idea dumbass, the thunder or the rain itself?" He grumbled as he made his way to the guards post to wait out the storm, or his shift, what ever came first. Izumo flashed his best friend a dirty look before following his lead and entered the small building, where they began to play cards with the other guards, periodically looking over the edge of the wall at the road.

It was a little while later during their ninth hand Izumo looked through the window and nearly jumped out of his skin. He leapt from his seat, startling the other guards, and had to force himself not to fire off a jutsu.

"Hey man what's wrong?" Kotetsu inquired, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder. Izumo said nothing as he his features turned from surprise to the stone cold face of a shinobi and pointed out into the pounding rain.

The other guards followed his hand to see far out in the darkness, a little ways beyond the edge of where the glow of the floodlights met the ebon curtain of night, stood the silhouette of a person standing unmoving and slouched to the one side, its right shoulder dipped low, arm hanging limply as the left shoulder rose high in the air. the shadowy mass that was its head was held upwards and its left arm ended in a tapered right angle where the hand should have been, like a man wielding a kunai in the reversed grip.

The majority of the guard, including Izumo and Kotetsu, leapt from the walls while the rest rushed to man the wall. As they neared the figure the smell of blood permeated even over the rain and the group slowed down, caution setting in.

"Step out into the light!" Izumo demanded over the pounding rain, whatever the figure said was drowned out by thunder and in that brief moment all the group saw was that the figure was a man covered in blood and they where immediately on guard, blades where drawn by those below and the groaning of several longbows could be heard as those above responded to the actions of their fellows, seals ingrained into the wood of their bows to allow flight even in the roughest of conditions.

"Last chance, step out into the light and state your intention or we will be forced to put you down!" Izumo roared, wielding his massive kunai blades as his partner brandished his chosen weapon. The figure began to slowly stumble forward, one leg responding slower than the other. As the man grew nearer Izumo could hear his labored breathing and the smell of blood grew stronger.

The first thing to enter the light was a foot, bereft of shoes with grime and mud clinging to his bare skin. the light traveled up his legs, covered in scratches and clothed in the tattered remains of what seemed to be orange pants, now improvised shorts. The mans torso was bare and his skin, what little that wasn't covered in scars or fresh wounds, was deathly pale.

And when the figure emerged fully into the light, blood soaked and mud caked, the ninja known was Izumo and Kotetsu gaped at a face they haven't seen in five years, not since they saw him and the Toad sage off as they began their training trip.

The face that they saw was obviously older, the once rounded face of the youth had become the chiseled featured of a man. A lonely violet eye stared out into the world, defiance bleeding away into hope even as its twin sat dead in its socket, a great scar spanning the chasm as his dead eye stared out, its milky depth blind to the world. the wound looked old, unlike the state of his arm. It hung limply from his shoulders, held their by scraps of skin and small wire-like projections that connected the sliced off limb to its shoulder. Though half blind, horribly wounded, and near dead from blood loss, that did not stop him from clutching a kunai tightly in his hand. If nothing else that pure determination itself gave them all the proof they needed as to the identity of the one before them.

Red hair and all, after being missing for two years, Naruto Uzumaki had returned...

***][***

Tsunade Senju, fifth Hokage to the village hidden in the leaves, She-who-dances-in-the-amongst-the-leaves, Slug Sannin, last of her line, did not care about what people thought of her or her titles as she plowed straight through the doors of Shodai memorial, her hair flying free of their confines and wild in appearance, a fuzzy pink bathrobe that did nothing to hide her sinfully small kimono-like-sleepwear; barely aware of the fantasies she was creating for the surrounding populace of men, and some women. At the moment she didn't care for any titles save one, she now inhabited the title of Baa-Chan; one she has longed to hear for over two years, ever since a lone Jiraiya returned to the village with no Naruto in tow.

She only stopped long enough to demand the number of the operating room in which the surgeons fought to save the life of her beloved proxy-child. The receptionist had barely uttered the room number before the Hokage was gone again, rushing down the hallway on her way to save Naruto's life. Without hesitation she barreled passed the double doors of the room to find a blood soaked Sakura Haruno as she struggled to repair the damage to Naruto's arm, tears flowing freely down her carven face as she pumped her chakra into her technique. Ino stood off to the side scanning his body for any further wounds, if the creasing of her brow and the deep frown was anything to go by she did not like the results.

"What'd we got?" Tsunade demanded as she stood into the room. She was answered by Ino.

"Severe internal hemorrhaging and organ failure, severed arm, and several lacerations to the body to start with." She said as she watched the diagnostic jutsu roll off problem after problem."Subject's lungs have been punctured by blunt force trauma to the ribs, pushing back them into the lungs. Subject's Spinal column has suffered and is in danger of death by exsanguination. Also Subject's-" Ino was interrupted by an enraged Sakura.

"Call him by his name bitch, he's not just some random asshole off the street! He's Naruto! and if you call him 'Subject' like he's some damn experiment one more time I swear I'll-" This time _she_ was interrupted.

"SAKURA!" Tsunade roared, getting the girl to cease her rant and look at her master."Stop this nonsense. Ino is just following procedure, we cant afford to allow our emotions to enter into this! I understand how you feel, he's like a son to me, but I will remove you from this room if you continue to act like that. Is that what you want, to have the best Medics in the world stop mid surgery just to remove one of their own from the operating room?" She accused, not even stopping in her preparations until the very end to glare at Sakura, who slumped in defeat and mumbled an apology Ino before she went back to work. Tsunade turned back to Ino.

"Continue." She said.

"Subje-Naruto's" Ino amended, earning a thankful glance from Sakura," Tissue shows alarming levels of scar tissue, the majority centered around the Back, neck, wrist, ankles, and torso; 53%, 7%, and 37% but..." Ino hesitated, prompting both Tsunade and Sakura to look up from their work."But what?" They questioned simultaneously, ignoring the fact.

"You don't wanna know." Ino swallowed heavily whilst wiping her eyes, trying to push the information's repercussions to the back of her mind.

"Where is the final 3% located Tokubetsu Jonin Yamanaka?" Ino flinched at the way Tsunade used her rank, She knew that Tsunade meant that as an order from the Hokage and therefor she couldn't not answer the question.

"The final three percent of scar tissue is located-" Ino looked away from the prone body of Naruto Uzumaki, unable to look upon him in fear of what she was about to reveal."In and around the anal cavity." She couldn't see the way Tsunade's eyes widened and her mouth gaped as her head whipped around to send a horrified look towards her Proxy-child. Sakura's head was on a swivel as she looked between her Sensei and her teammate.

"In the anal cavity? Lady Tsunade, what does that mean? Ino?" She questioned, in the back of her mind she already knew what it meant but she refused to accept it. Ino looked back towards her best friend as she hovered over the table.

"It means he-" She began but Tsunade beat her to the finish.

"He was raped." She said robotically, she had cut off her emotions in order to remain functioning long enough to save her boy."Not once or twice, but many times over the course of a short period of time." Sakura didn't have the strength of her friend or the switch of her teacher that allowed her to turn her emotions on and off and so she would've collapsed had it not been the swift, strong hand of Tsunade that caught her as her legs gave out. Sakura looked up into the eyes of her stone faced master.

"You can shutdown later we have work to do." Tsunade finished, talking to both of them at once but looking at Sakura, who nodded before she straightened. And while they had been working frantically during the entire exchange they tripled their efforts to save the life of their Precious person.


	2. Poisoned Reunion

**I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks to all of you for your reviews, yes Kyorose57, even that one guest reviewer that you so lovingly named J***. I will now refer to all flamers by that name, thank you. As for he rest I must thank you al for taking the time to read my first expedition into the Naruto Universe. With 5 reviews, 11 follows, 3 Favorites, 143 views in under 24 hours its doing far better than I expected. well this Authors not isn't what you came here for, with special thanks to Hanmac for being the First to PM me lets get this show on the road.**

 *****][*****

 **Chapter 2: Death by twos**

It was with a great sigh of weary trepidation that Sakura plopped onto one of the plush couches in the Nurses Lounge, something that Tsunade had been determined to have now that she had returned to Konoha, refusing to continue her work at Shodai memorial until the renovations were finished. The fight for Naruto's life has been a long and grueling one, starting at around ten in the evening with it now being around 7:30 of the next day. Even with them all being trained for procedures lasting for hours it had gotten to the point where they began to switch out with one another in order to preserve their chakra, and Tsunade was forced to call Shizune in to give Sakura and Ino even more time to recharge while she plowed through, slowly piecing Naruto back together until the brown haired girl had to literally drag her master away from the room at around noon. It was almost like something was keeping them from fully healing their precious person. More than once they cursed the Kyuubi, thinking the demon lord was actively undermining their attempts to save Naruto's life seeing as how they had yet to once see the tell-tale chakra pour from his body to heal his body.

Three shift changes later Tsunade found the problem.

"What is this?" The Hokage pondered, she had began to stitch together the muscle of his left leg from where someone had lodged a kunai. Said object laid in a surgical tray next to the bed looking so innocent before a glinting caught the eye of the worlds greatest medic. Tsunade reached over and grasped the handle of the kunai and brought to her face in order to observe it closer. in appearance it was just like the standard kunai but on closer observation a small vial located in the center of the ring on the hilt became visible.

"Hmm, that's odd. Why would some one put that their, its completely useless for poisons unless you have a de-liv-ery syste-Shizune!" Tsunade would forever hate herself for what she had almost allowed to pass with her inability to catch the reason why their work was going agonizingly slow...Naruto had been poisoned, but not just any poison, no if Tsunade's hunch was right her ineptitude would have cost the lives of her and her students...

 *****][*****

"What's does the toxicology report say?!" Tsunade demanded the second she saw the folder in the hands of her oldest apprentice. Sakura and Ino leapt to their feet, it had been two hours since Tsunade ordered all treatments for Naruto to be ceased immediately as Shizune dashed to the Toxicology department. Both Sakura and Ino had protested but a quick glare from both Tsunade and Shizune, which was surprising enough, was enough to cow them both. Tsunade had stopped the bleeding long enough to place him into one of the hyperbolic chambers to keep him stable enough for them to wait. It was truly amazing what a seal master could accomplish given enough time. The knowledge was a gift from the mighty Uzumaki clan in appreciation for the hospitality they had shown their Heiress during the war. Inside the chambers time was suspended, the draw backs where that their was only three and they each required a massive amount of chakra which was drained from the surrounding environment if not properly monitored it would slowly leech away everything in its immediate vicinity until everything was dead therefor the maximum limit of use was two weeks in a city the size of Konoha.

"You were right." was all the brown haired medic said as she placed the manila folder in the hands of her master before she crossed her arms under her breast and stood nearby, waiting for her masters commands.

"Right about what?" Ino asked, leaning forward in her seat, eager to get past this obstacle and get back to work. She was Ignored however as Tsunade, whose suddenly pale skin belied her determined demeanor, looked towards Shizune and ordered her to find them a Hyuga.

"Why do we need a Hyuga for?" Sakura asked as Ino fumed, far from happy at being ignored especially when Sakura was answered after Tsunade took a few moments to collect herself.

"The reason why I ordered a stop to treatment and the reason we need a Hyuga is one in the same. Naruto was poisoned with a very _very_ rare toxin with a nightmarish lethality. It is derived from the Chakuraitonsame, otherwise known as the Chakra eater shark, and it is called Futari-de-shi, or death by twos." Tsunade's tone was grim and dark, like the mention of the poison was painful."Its the very same poison that killed Dan and, by extension, me if it wasn't for Jiraiya pulling me away from the corpse." Tsunade looked towards the floor and the observant would see two small crystalline drops fall to the floor."and now the very same thing that took away my beloved has come to take what little I have left in this world." Sakura stood and wrapped her arms around her master as she poured as much warmth and caring into her words.

"Naruto is going to be okay, He's to stubborn to let some silly little shark oil take him down. just you wait he'll be up and screaming about how he'll take that hat from you real soon." Tsunade snorted.

"Well he damn well hurry up and take it, I'm more than willing to pass off all that blasted paperwork onto his stupid ass." They all laughed and so Tsunade was back to her strong, stubborn young self.

"How does the poison work?" Ino asked when everything settled down again. Tsunade lounged in a nearby chair, glad to be off her feet after her nearly four hours on her feet, two in the operating room and another two pacing the halls. she was still in her nightwear but she had taken the time to tie it closed, but even that left her bodaciousness to spill out the top. Sakura kept stealing envious glances towards her masters Racktacular femininity, while she had grown over the past few years Tsunade's bust was enough to make just about anyone feel inadequate. _Its both a blessing and a curse_ she had to remind herself, Tsunade had once told her that the reason she had created the _strength-of-a-hundred_ technique was to relieve herself of the chronic back pain she experienced due to her chest-size. She supposed she should be happy that she and Ino shared the same cup size, at least.

"It simply feeds on a portion of the chakra used to heal the afflicted while allowing just enough through to fool the medic into believing that if they just pumped more chakra into the procedure then they'll be able to save them." Tsunade said, smirking as she caught a nearby jonin looking at her chest. The man quickly looked away but not quick enough. Still _got it_ she thought while proudly stroked the exposed skin of her cleavage.

"That doesn't sound like something that deserves a name like _Death-by-twos_." Ino stated, and as Tsunade was about to clarify Sakura beat her to it.

"The Medic would eventually panic and begin to siphon every ounce of chakra into the patient, either from care for the patient themselves or simply for their reputation, and Ignore the bodies warning signs until they've completely emptied their chakra reserves and begin to use their own life force until they die, leaving the patient to slowly bleed to death or die by what ever ailed them in the first place. Hence the name, _Death-by-twos_." She said quietly, coming to grips with the reality of just what could have happened had Tsunade been less observant.

"You are half right." Said the Sannin, causing both of her students to look up at her." The poison has a nasty habit of 'swimming' up through the connection forged by the medics chakra and causes the body to go numb to any outside stimuli while enhancing feelings of desperation and determination. Hence the name _Death-by-twos_."

***][***

It was with the desperation of a woman whose beloved was dying that gave Hinata Hyuga the courage she needed to shove her way out of the Compound, through the streets of Konoha, and into the Shodai memorial hospital, anyone who had any complaints of refused to move was met with a series of Juuken strikes, delivered with surgical precision along with the speed and power of lightning. Hinata had waited a _long~_ time to see her Naru-kun again and after five years worth of the hollow existence her life was without him, she learns that not only has he returned to their lives but he was dying! They was no way in hell she was going to let somebody keep her from him a fact that her father, cousins, younger sister, fellow rookie nine, fellow shinobi, and a few civilians learned the hard way.

It had been a long time since Naruto left and Hinata was not the same bashful little girl he had left, she had trained long and hard. With no distractions left in her life she threw herself into training and perfecting a new style of the Gentle fist that suited her more flexible frame, which allowed her to flow more freely than the others of her clan. Using the idea of the Fourth Hokage to implement elemental chakra into her Juuken strikes she soon developed the style that earned her the moniker of 'She-who-dances-with-lightning.' or the Fulgarian dancer.

It was this same lightning that danced around her form as she threw open the doors of Shodai, startling the various doctors, nurses, and patients inside the lobby. She paid them no mine, as she saw, not the man of her dreams, but someone who could vary well lead her to him.

***][***

Shizune Kato felt like she was looking into the eyes of the Shinigami when she beheld the face of the Hyuga heiress, her pale eyes where alight with fury and lightning crackled about her curvaceous form. With the addition of the breeze blowing through the open windows she looked like an wrathful goddess descended, which with her power, political, financial, and physical take your pick, coupled with the beauty she had grown to be she most certainly could be. all this was punctuated by three little words spoken with all the authority of a goddess.

" .he." It was less of a question and more of a demand, but Shizune was thankful that at least she was spared the walk to and from the Hyuga compound. That was something at least.

***][***

It was with great sadness that Hinata Hyuga beheld her paramour, still and silent as he was. She was tired, and her body longed for sleep. But the yearning in her heart for the man before her was even stronger than the sirens call that beckoned her to the arms of Morpheus. Their was only one man whose voice she wished to hear, that deep raspy baritone that set her body afire with want, and it was his embrace alone that she wished to return. It was with sorrowful resolution that she placed the latter behind her, for the man she loved so dearly no longer had the ability to fully encompassed her with his warmth. Though they had worked tirelessly to save his life, both before and after the discovery of the Futari-de-shi their was nothing they could do to save his arm. Who ever it was that severed the limb had taken away that dream, killed it just as they had tried to do so with him. She was eternally grateful that they had managed to save her darling Naruto, but she couldn't help but feel the bitter disappointment that came with the death of a dream.

There was one more thing that couldn't be saved, though hidden by the curtain of crimson that Tsunade had gently draped across the right side of his face and obscured even further by the perpetual twilight that had fallen over the room, cast by the frail sunlight turned gray by the actual curtains that hung before window of the silent room. Hinata sat watching him from the darkest corner of the room, the darkness hide everything about her except her presence as she mourned the loss of his eye, it was such a rich and vibrant shade of purple, so full of life and tender care when he gazed upon those he loved, a gaze that she one day wished to be centered on her, sadly that eye was never again to express such emotions, another dream forever doomed to drown in its the murky depths as it stared off into oblivion.

The room was silent, deathly so, as if the room itself was morning the loss of her dreams. This was a silence broken only by the sounds of their breathing and the occasional noise of the machine that represented his heartbeat, both joined together in the sweetest symphony to ever grace her highborn ears. They represented life, _**His**_ life, they told her he was still _**alive**_ , that he was still _**here**_ , __with her...And here, in the mausoleum of her shattered dreams…that was all that mattered.


	3. The sleeping fox and the Weeping Serpent

I currently have two polls running that concern the future of the story, please check them out.

***][***

Chapter three: The sleeping Fox and the weeping Serpent

Ino melted into the rich purple plushness that was her mattress. It had been a long day, what with them all spending over 38 hours in the fight to save Naruto's life. Ino was immensely thankful her friend's treatment was finally over, it was such a shame that they could do nothing to save his arm. From what she knew of the blond he would be devastated once he learned that his ninja career was practically over. It was such a shame too, he had such a nice body, even with the overabundance of scar tissue. Maybe that's why...

Ino clamped down on that train of though immediately, she couldn't afford to go back down the horrible enlightenment that final 3% brought with it. She felt horrible for even thinking of Naruto that way, like he was some piece of meat. She was no better than the bastards who did that to him, using him like some little toy. Ino knew how he must feel, she herself has never been though the experience personally but she had been through the minds of those who have enough times during her clan training to have a pretty good idea. It was bad enough for a woman, but as a man? Each are horrible in their own right but a man has no one to turn too, if he did he would most likely be laughed at for not being able to defend himself from such an outcome, and god forbid if it was by a woman.

When Naruto awoke he would be feeling week, emasculated, ashamed for what had happened to him. All the same for what happens with women but he would feel at fault for an entirely different reason, he wouldn't reason that he was asking for it, he would feel pathetic that it had happened at all. Ino had been through the minds of the few men that volunteered and she felt all of those things more.

She wouldn't pity him, that would only make him feel worse. But she would empathize, If nothing else he would have someone to turn too.

***][***

Hinata awoke with a start, having drifted off hours before and at the moment she faced the adjacent wall to the bed in which Naruto slept in her on little futon the nurses had been so kind to provide her. She felt something was off, like someone was just behind her. She chalked it up to Naruto and was drifting off once more when the sound of gentle crying fell upon her ears.

***][***

Anko Mitarashi stood in the darkness, looking down at the one person who knew her pain. Liquid sorrow tumbled from the molten caramel of her eyes, down her golden cheeks, and over the precipice that was her jaw to fly into the darkness until they shattered against the floor. It pained her to see him like this, he was always so strong and resolute in his dreams that is was unnerving to see him so weak and frail.

For years he was the one she drew her strength, for if he wouldn't give into the hate inside then how could she? If he, with the power inside of him to level all opposition, refused to hate, then how could she? They were the same, thought separated by five years they had been through much the same experience. Hated by the village as a whole, ostracized by their fellow Shinobi, ridiculed by their surroundings. Both had astounding reason to _**Hate**_ , she struggled with it everyday and would have given in long ago if it weren't for the words of a violet eyed child.

}Flashback{

 _"Hey." Came a voice which was promptly ignored by Anko, who sat huddled in an alley cold and wet from the wastewater the bakers wife had doused her with. She was crying, the tears fell from her eyes like water from a faucet. She was in pain, the bruises on her body that the baker gave as she ran throbbed and screamed in agony. She was angry, at the world, at her parents for dyeing, at her bastard of a Sensei for abandoning her, at herself for being so foolish as to trust them. She was only twelve, and yet she was alone. No friends, no family, no where to go._

 _"Hey, pretty lady~! why are you crying?" Spoke the voice once more._

 _Anko scoffed,_ pretty lady? the kid must be blind. I'm not pretty, much less a lady. I'm nothing, no one will teach me or take me in, not unless I give them 'favors', That's probably the only way left for me to survive. _Anko smiled through her tears at the irony._ I really will be the Snake whore of Konoha.

 _Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand touching her exposed back. Anko tensed and her head shot up to glare at the little redheaded child who looked at her with concern in his big glittering violet eyes. He was covered in filth and smelled like a sewer. She would've called him cute if it wasn't for the smell and how upset she was._

 _"Don't touch me!" She yelled at the small child, no older than six, who jerked like a beaten dog when she leapt to her feet, shying away._

 _"O-okay, I'm sorry." He said, slowly retreating away from her."Please don't hurt me, ill leave. You wont hurt me if I leave right?" He looked scarred, ready to bolt at the slightest provocation._

 _"Wait!" Anko called after him, forcing him to halt his retreat down the alley. She had seen this child around, diving into dumpsters in search of his next meal and sometimes sleeping in the very same trash. He was just like her. No, he had it worse, no one had tried to kill her yet._

 _"I'm sorry, kid. Its just...grah! I HATE THIS STUPID PLACE!" She said kicking a nearby bag of trash. she raged, kicking and punching whatever was near her until that small little voice pricked her ears._

 _"Why, what has a building ever done to you?" The boy inquired and Anko looked at him like he was an idiot._

 _"Its not the buildings I'm talking about, kid its the people. They hate me for being the apprentice of a traitor. Their stupid, vile, insecure little pissants who cant tell the difference between a kunai and a scroll!" The boy looked away from her._

 _"At least you know why they hate you." The loneliness in his words left Anko speechless, a good thing because the boy continued to speak."I have no idea why they hate me, but I don't hate them. That would make me no better than them, plus I know that not everybody's the same. Just the other day this weird cat lady jumped from a tree and beat up those mean men that were hurting me! She was all, BAM, POW, and WHY Don't YOU TRY THAT SHIT WITH ME!" The boy, who had been punching and kicking the air, covered his mouth."Oooooh, I said a bad-word! Nee-Chan wont give me raman anymore!" The boy looked at Anko and, with tears in his eyes, threw himself at her feet, latching his arms around her waist begging her not to tell his Nee-Chan. Anko couldn't help but throw back her head and laugh for the first time in what felt like forever, the boy still gripping her waist._

***][***

That had been twelve years ago, back then he was so vibrant and full of energy. Because of him she threw herself into her training, because of him she met her best friends in the world, Kurenai, Hana, and Yugao, because of him she learned to forgive. It really helped that he was so fun to tease. The moment when she could make him blush so hard he matched his hair was one of the best feelings she has ever had.

But now, as she stared down at the boy that was the cause of everything good in her life, Anko couldn't help but _hate_. She hated whoever did this to him, taking away his career by blinding him wasn't enough they had to take his arm as well?! When she got her hands on whomever did this to Naru-kun she was going feed them their skin! The hot tears spilling down her cheeks where ignored as she clinched her fist, so tight that blood began to dripping from the crescent shaped wounds left behind from her nails. She hated herself for not being their to save him, hated Jiraiya for leaving him alone, she hated feeling powerless to help her precious person.

Anko relaxed as she tiptoed towards the bed, careful not to wake the sleeping heiress, it wouldn't do for her reputation as a hardcore sadistic badbitch to be tarnished now, would it. As she reached the edge of the bed she leaned over, her full breast gently grazing the scarred chest of the sleeping Naruto, and Anko guiltily relished the sensation of her nipples against his scarred flesh. The little raises in his skin sending a thrill through her each time they met with the tender peaks of her breast.

Anko brushed aside the curtain of hair that hid away his wounded eye and took a moment to observe the bandage that hid the empty recess of his skull, for a time she pondered if it was truly a good idea to remove the eye, pushing that thought to the recesses of her mind Anko placed a kiss upon the ragged scar that disappeared beneath the white cotton padding before repeating the gesture twice more for the scar under his eye and the stump of his arm before placing a final, lingering kiss, one that she hoped pervade all the chaotic emotions she held for the boy five years her junior.

"I love you." She said, her voice tight and quiet as she placed her forehead atop his own."I love you, so much. So please wake up"

As she left Anko never notice the glare burning itself into her back from the shadows of the room...

***][***

It was a few days later that a frazzled Sakura barged into Tsunade's office, she had been there for days trying to find a way to allow Naruto to remain in the Shinobi corp but so far she had nothing. She wished to implant one of the iced Sharingan into the hollow socket but the Council had firmly refused her proposal at every turn, of course she could make it an executive order but their was no telling how the respective factions would react and what they'd do in retaliation. Hinata had been working on finding a donor For the Byakugan on her end but so far she wasn't fairing much better, both the elders protest and the lack of viable donors put a damper in both plans. The Slug Sannin had sent missives to all their allies, those that had assisted in the search, telling them of the current situation.

Jiraiya offered to help anyway he could and said that he was on his way, apparently the Toads were still angry at him for abandoning Naruto. He had expressed the idea of a special made eyepatch to allow for Naruto see. Both Gaara and Princess Fujikaze said they where on their way, the latter stating that she may have a solution for Naruto's arms but required a seal master's help. With Jiraiya on the way that solved the issue of a seal master. But what ever back to the Hyperventilating pinkette.

"Shisou!" Cried the apprentice to her master, who leapt to her feat fearing the worst. Was Naruto alright? Had someone made an attempt on his life? Was he dead?

"What's wrong?!" Shouted the legendary sucker. Sakura broke out into an immense grin, her green eyes alight with joy and wonderment at what she was about to reveal.

"Its Naruto, He's awake!"


	4. Sunsets with Demons

***]Sunsets with demons[***

When Naruto first awoke he panicked, screaming and crying about how he couldn't see out of his right eye. He had fallen out of the bed which lead to him wondering why he couldn't feel his dominant arm, he managed to stumble his way to the mirror and that was where they found him, just staring at his reflection.

When Sakura entered the room to find his bed empty she freaked as well until she saw the bathroom door open, allowing her to only see the left-side of his half naked form.

Clad in only a pair of hospital scrubs, Tsunade had insisted that no son of hers was going to be walking around with his ass hanging out, leaving his chest bare Sakura had to admit he had grown to be a damn good looking man. At 6'2'' he was about a foot taller than her, and his body was toned and strong underneath all the pale white scars that crisscrossed all over his body. She could just see the beginnings of a scar just in the middle of his chest, it was an older scar, perhaps two years and some change old, the Hokage had theories that something cylindrical had been embedded into his chest hot enough to cauterize the surrounding skin about a third of the way to his nipples, which had reacted to the cold air of the hospital room. His face had lost all roundness, allowing his jaw and cheekbones to become well defined and strong. His Crimson hair had grown well past its usual spiky length to playfully tickle the middle of his back, he had apparently tucked his chest length bangs behind his ears to allow him better visibility as he studied his face, which was covered in the scraggily beginnings of a beard. Whoever had kept him had kept his face clean shaven but had allowed his hair to grow with meticulous care, which Ino had taken the responsibility of maintaining, saying that someone had taken great pains to turn a short little loud mouth into such a fine specimen of man candy and who was she to leave all that hard work to waste, a sentiment shared by the feminine population of the hospital staff even with him covered in scars and missing both an arm and an eye.

The pinkette was forced to stop her staring when Naruto suddenly began screaming as he slammed his fist into the bathroom mirror, bloodying his knuckles as shards of glass dug their way into his flesh. The remains of the shattered mirror had only just settled in the sink before his hands dove into their midst, further damaging himself, to retrieve the largest shard.

It was as he raised it to his throat that Sakura reached him. She forced him to release the glass by utilizing her massive reserves of strength. When he felt the feminine hands close around his wrist Naruto yelped and dove into the tub, curling himself into a ball in an attempt to hide himself from her.

"Baka! What were you thinking?! This isn't you! The Naruto I know would never resort to suicide, especially now that he was safely back home!" She screamed at his cowering form, she was furious. What did he think that would accomplish?

"I wasn't." Came a small voice, the very sound of the once boisterous ninja speaking so quietly deflated the wind from Sakura."I wasn't trying to die."He affirmed once more from his spot in the showers corner.

Sakura crouched next to the tub, the heels of her shoes crunching the glass beneath her feet as she looked at Naruto, who kept his back to Sakura, who could practically count the strange vertical rows of parallel line-like scars that littered his back along with the whips signature.

"Then what where you trying to accomplish Naruto, what was I supposed to thing when you brought the glass to your neck?" Her voice was gentle, like a parent speaking to a scared child.

"I want it gone!" He said, gesturing to his hair as he peeked out from under the crook of his arm.

"Your hair? Why would you want it gone?" She asked tentatively, careful not to scare him.

"I-I don't know, I just don't like it!" Naruto clutched at his head, as if it was in pain.

Sakura didn't think Ino would ever forgive her if she allowed Naruto to save of his, in her words, glorious lions mane. So, careful not to move to suddenly, she reached out and ever-so-gently stroked his curtain of crimson locks.

"I like it, I think your hair is a beautiful addition to a beautiful person." She did, really.

Naruto slowly uncurled himself from the fetal position and looked up at the green eyed medic, hope and curiosity evident in the lonely violet eye.

"Really, you..like it?" He said slowly, as if dreading the answer but was filled with to much curiosity to stop the words flying from his mouth.

"Really." She smiled at him, a smile full of teeth and kindness, it filled him with a sense of warmth he hadn't felt in a long time. It was disarming, it was lovely.

Sakura was glad that he didn't scuttle away when she suddenly stood and offered her hand.

"Now lets get you cleaned up!" She said, still showing that gorgeous smile.

"Do you remember me?" She asked as his hand fell into hers and now it was his turn to smile, and so it was her turn to feel the warmth that blossomed in her heart at the sight of a grin filled with teeth, wonderment, and joy.

"How could I forget."

***][***

In a base far away in a country of rain a woman screamed, not of pain or fear, but of infernal all scorching, unabated, and unforgiving _**Rage**_ as she repeatedly stabbed a man with slicked back silver hair with his own weapon, blood spraying with each heavy thud. She screamed louder with each drop that landed on her porcelain skin, each drop another sin atop the mans head.

" **YOU** **. . !"** She had screamed at the man when she began her slaughter by wrenching his weapon from his hands and going to town, beginning with a backhand so powerful it slammed him into the stone wall a hundred feet behind him. He barely had anytime to react before she was on him, gripping him by the throat, pulling him from the stone in one mighty heave from her deceptively small frame, over her head and into the ground where shards of rock shot from the impact even as its home crumbled beneath the force of the woman's wrath. She stood atop his chest and raised the weapon above her head before bringing it down with enough force to release waves of wind that sliced apart the surrounding stone.

" **YOU HURT MY Naruto!"** She roared like it was the most damning thing in the world as the mans blood began to fill the shattered hole, most men would have died long ago, but luckily, or unluckily, this particular man was immortal and, for the first time in his life, was not happy about it.

The others in the room wouldn't attempt a rescue, the whirling tempest of the crimson blade deterred any such action anyway as the woman took out her rage on the immortal. None of them dared mention the fact that her precious toy was charred by their resident bomber, who stood off to the side, sick to his stomach as he gazed upon the blood shed, sending pleading looks to his compatriots, begging for their silence...

***][***

Now that they sat in her office, Tsunade had asked the questions that had been on everyone's minds.

"What happened?" She had said it as gently as possible in an effort not to upset the boy, who had been calm so far. And she received her answer.

"I'm sorry." Naruto said as he tried to hide from the caramel orbs of the blonde Hokage, something deep inside him fearing what she would do to him as he gave her his answer.

"I don't remember." He clutched at his head as Sakura rubbed soothing circles on his tortured skin while whispering quietly in his ear. Tsunade looked upon her proxy-son with tears in her eyes, it pained her greatly to see him like this, so disfigured in mind and body. While even she had to admit he had grown into a fine young man, it only added to the tragedy that was his disfigurement. She had known how much he wanted to be loved and acknowledged but now he was convinced that he was far too hideous for anyone to love him and with his disability he was no longer eligible to be a Shinobi, so he could no longer become Hokage, so in his mind he was doomed to be forever alone and hated. It had taken the two, Sakura and Tsunade, hours to convince him to exit the hospital and walk the distance to the Hokage tower. He still received the sneers of hatred that he always had but some of those eyes held pity and remorse for the one armed, one eyed boy as he passed. They had dressed him in a long-sleeved white shirt and tied the empty sleeve into a tight knot, allowing all to see his disability as he was helped along by the medics, a squad of anbu discouraged any attempted assault. When they arrived at their destination they ushered him up the stairs and through the doors that led to her office. Naruto was placed before her in the chair, the medic inside Sakura wouldn't allow her to leave her patient, so she was by his side. Something she hoped dearly he wouldn't misunderstand. And Tsunade sat at her desk.

"Its okay Naruto, I'm not going to hurt you." She promised him, her voice kind and steady, which seemed to do the trick because he relaxed in his chair.

"Can-can you tell me..." He began but trailed off. Sakura moved her hand from its gentle ministrations to rest it on the shoulder of his good arm as she leaned over to give him a concerned but gentle look, Her eyebrows lifting at the point between her eyes.

"What is it Naruto? you can ask us anything." She assured her vulnerable teammate, even as her mind quailed at the sight of him being so.

"What did...What all did you do to me? You know, to save me." He muttered quietly, just loud enough form them to here him. Tsunade stood from her seat and walked around her desk to kneel at his feet, unknowingly, or knowingly, who knows?, allowing him an uninhibited and generous view of her cleavage as she placed a gentle hand on his knee.

"Well...We began by stopping in the bleeding, you had what seemed to be several dozen lacerations with varying degrees of penetration, concentrated to your back, torso, and arms...As well as the severed arm and at least seven cases of internal hemorrhaging. then we dealt with the mass organ failure." She said, choosing to skip over the discovery of the Futari-de-shi, the Naruto she knew would never forgive himself if he learned that they put their lives on the line in order to save him." To do that we had to remove and reset the multiple shards of bone that make up your rib cage that had punctured your lungs. Your left leg was fractured a total of three times and you had dislocated your corresponding shoulder." Tsunade pulled up his shirt to point at a particularly pink swath of skin on his right side that stretched from his chest down to his thigh and crossing over a small bit of his back and a fifth of his front, He had barely noticed it before she pulled up his shirt." You had 3rd degree burns over 25% of your body which we dealt with using skin grafts, but it did most of the work for us on that side but is a small part of the reason that we couldn't reattach your arm."She tightly squeezed his leg when she saw the look in his eye at the mention of his eye.

" Look Naruto, it doesn't make you any less of a man, right Sakura." She didn't even have to look at her apprentice for the pinkette to get the message, She just brushed a stray strand of hair from his eyes and tucked it behind his ear.

"And a handsome one at that." She said with a wink, her words getting a rise out of Naruto, who looked her dead in the eyes a dark look in his own.

"To bad you prefer clan heirs." He said bitterly shrugging off her touch, which stunned Sakura. He had _Never_ talked to her that way before, The old Naruto would have jumped for joy at the mere idea of Sakura calling him handsome, He should be over the moon in joy at least. She nearly took offence at his attitude but a small piece of her mind reminded her she wasn't dealing with the old Naruto.

"Continue, Hokage-Baa-Chan." Unlike all the other times he said it, this time it filled Tsunade with a warmth that had nothing to do with rage. After all these years without hearing the sound of his voice she was overjoyed to hear him call her that.

"Still the same ol' Naruto, disrespectful and stubborn...Never change brat." She patted his leg gently, her words brought a smile to his face, small and sad but a smile non the less as he reached out a hand.

"Its a promise of a life time." He whispered as he gently ran his fingers through her hair, She had allowed no one to do that since the death of Dan. But she found herself enjoying the sensation of his fingers in her thick, long, blonde hair, it was soothing in a way she hadn't felt since so long ago and she felt herself relaxing under his tender administrations.

"Hokage-sama!" Sakura hissed, though she didn't know why she didn't exactly like how she was reacting to his touch. Tsunade tensed and realized she had laid her head on his knee. Looking up she saw that Naruto had drifted off to sleep, his head tilted, his eyes closed, and his breathing even, all the while he was still gently stroking her hair.

***][***

A week later

"You do know they let me keep my legs right?" Naruto said up to the heiress pushing him through the streets in a wheel chair. They had been arguing about this for half an hour as they made their way to her compound. He kept trying to walk on his own and she kept shoving him back in the chair.

"That can be amended." Ino threatened, her long blond hair in its usual ponytail as it swished side to side just shy of her knees, her doctors coat open to allow her painted on crop top and skirt to be viewed by the world. And what a view she was with her platinum blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes along with her toned and lithe body swathed in creamy skin she was easily one of the best looking Kunoichi this side of the monument and Naruto felt lucky to have her as his personal escort as she lead him to his daily therapy session. Now if only he could convince her to let him walk.

"Your worse than Hinata." He said in reference to the fact that ever since he awoke the navy blue haired heiress of one of the most powerful and influential clans in the world had been running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to take care of his every need. It was touching...and annoying, He could bathe by himself dammit!

"oh really, I'm worse than her huh, well why don't we ask her about your decision to walk." Ino grinned, slowly, ominously turning the chair in the direction of the Hyuga compound as Naruto paled considerably.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Cant we just talk about this!" Naruto panicked, and Ino just laughed like the devil herself as she began to slowly wheel him towards his doom."All right, all right, all right! Enough I get it! Ill be good, I swear just don't give me to that madwoman!" He acquiesced, heaving a sigh of relief as she turned him back in the correct, I. e safe, direction. They moved to the sound of Ino's quiet laughter at Naruto being afraid of a Five four sweet heart like Hinata.

"Your so scared of a girl." She teased, and Naruto swiftly turned in his seat to glare at her over his left shoulder.

"Your damn right I'm scared of a girl who paralyzed me when I refused to let her bath me, I learned my lesson the first time, thank you!" He shouted, still looking over his shoulder when Ino's laughter suddenly died as she glared straight ahead."What the hell do you want asshole!" She spat, causing Naruto to twist back around to see a man around their age standing a few feet a head in the street. He had the same clan traits as Shikamaru but was obviously not him, this Nara looked cocky and had a nose ring.

"Look Ino, I just wanna talk." He said, ignoring that the only reason he was alive was the fact that looks did not, in fact kill.

"I have nothing to say to you." Ino brushed him off and tried to get past him but he kept blocking the path.

"Move Shikaru!" Ino demanded.

"Please Ino, Just a few minutes. If you ever loved me you'll give me that." Shikaru begged, playing the 'loved me' card that was apparently Ino's weakness because she stopped struggling and looked conflicted before she gave a exasperated sigh of defeat.

"Okay, lets have it." She said, looking at him expectantly. Shikaru looked down at Naruto, who was dangerously close to his junk, and looked back at her.

"In private." He said motioning towards a nearby alley, Naruto's shinobi, street kid, creepdar, and spidey senses screamed at him that it was a _**BAD**_ idea to let Ino go into that alley.

"Well that's nice and all but _Ino_ and I have an appointment to keep, come on Ino lets go." Naruto reminded, but she began to walk towards the alley where Shikaru was waiting anyway.

"Its fine Naruto, This wont take long." She dismissed.

"But Ino! you know I cant walk, don't go! we're going to miss my appointment!" He tried once more but was waved off as she entered the alley, Shikaru gaining an evil grin.

***][***

"Alright Shikaru, What this all abo-" She froze, not from fear or shock, but from the literal inability to move or speak.

"What's this is about is me getting something I'm owed." Ino heard the dark voice of Shikaru as he neared her. Ino tried to scream, cry, run, whimper, but whatever her ex had done to her didn't allow her the courtesy. She felt his hands wrap around her from behind, groping and molesting her breast.

"You like my little Jutsu? I made it just for you. I call it **Shadow possession: proper places**. It made it special." Shikaru buried his face in the crook of her neck as he squeezed her tender mounds roughly, his nails digging into her flesh as Ino inwardly prayed for someone to save her even as she struggled to free herself from the technique. Beneath his hand he Shikaru felt Ino's bountiful chest heave as she tried to scream, with a black chuckle he slammed her into the wall, cutting her face and busting her nose. Hot rivulets of blood sprinted down her face to mix with the burning trails of tears.

"Ah ah aaah, we cant have you hyperventilating now do we? I want you to enjoy every second as I take what's mine." He said before he bent her over a nearby trash can."How appropriate, trash like you getting taken in trash." He mocked before slapping her hard across her rear."You may be Yamanaka trash but, Damn you've gotta fine ass!" his praise as he palmed and squeezed her firm cheeks, made Ino's insides revolt, she wanted to vomit. She was scared, she was going to get raped in an alley, Shikaru was an asshole and a pig but she never figured he would rape her! If he was willing to go that far he was probably going to kill her, this wasn't just some spur of the moment plan it was organized. Shikaru caught her outside after everything was winding down for the day and the streets where nearly abandoned, the only person she could hope to save her was Naruto, and he couldn't even walk! how was he going to save her, If he some how managed to wheel himself down this filthy alley he was going to die.

So deep was she in her misery that she didn't even hear the sound of Shikaru's pants falling to the floor until her skirt was torn from her body, a silent scream of pain clawed its way out of her body.

"How does it feel, Hmm? To finally be off that high little horse of yours and be bent over like the bitch you are." He slapped her ass once more." I bet you wished you had just let me have this before you little cunt." He roughly shoved his fingers inside her as Ino cried out tears of pain.

Shikaru's eyes widened as his fingers found something, and an devilish sneer contorted his features. He snatched Ino's hair, forcing her up and placed his mouth next to her ear.

"Aww, did little Ino want to save herself for her husband?" Shikaru gave a sadistic chortle in her ear."Well to bad! Pucker up baby, here comes the groom!" He crowed as he prepared to enter her, but an arm and a voice stopped him. The arm wrapped around his neck as the hand came up, the knuckles pressing tightly against Shikaru's neck as the palm faced out like a prayer.

"I object." Said the voice, calm and filled with glacial wrath as the arm jerked, ending Shikaru's pitiful existence.

Ino heard the voice, and to her it sounded like the voice of an angel, come down to rescue her from evil full of righteous wrath as it smote the foul mortal who dared harm his charge. But as Ino turned to look upon the face of her angel she saw no angel. No, the one standing in the darkness of the alley littered in trash above the corpse of Shikaru was the Demon of Konoha, his crimson hair was set afire in the light of the sunset, practically glowing as it danced in the wind, his lone eye burning with the amethysian fires of hell.

Those flames softened from a blazing inferno to the warm and comforting flames of the hearth as the demons eye fixed on her, filled with concern and caring he gazed upon her battered form.

"You okay?" He said, his voice gentle and kind. He didn't reprimand her for not heading her advice, didn't ogle her bare essentials. He just walked over, shucking his shirt, leaving his battered chest and stump to freeze in the chilling air of the alley to preserve her dignity by wrapping it around her thighs, careful not to touch where he shouldn't. Ino saw the meticulous care he afforded a foolish girl who didn't listen, and broke. She launched herself at him and wept into his chest, he just wrapped his arm around her and let her weep in silence as he led her out of the darkness.

***]A month later[***

}House of Nara{

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered as he moved one of his pieced across the board, his opponent doing the same soon after. The pair played shogi in an observation room somewhere in the compound that overlooked the forest in which they raised deer. Shikamaru had placed the table at the far left end of the long glass observation window that stretched from wall to wall with only a few sparse feet of the wall left over. It was on this wall that his opponent leaned his back against, his feet crossed at the ankles and his one good arm laying bent at the elbow on his side of the table as he looked at Shikamaru with his one violet eye. A band of little girls, all Nara, had wrangled his long scarlet hair into a neat braid that fell forward over his right shoulder and diagonally across his collarbone to the where his left pectoral ended and his armpit began, leaving two crimson fangs to frame his face, on which sat a plain black eyepatch just above the whisker marks that crossed his cheeks. He wore a silver bracelet on his wrist, identifying him as a patient under the care of the last Senju, whose mark was engraved in the front of the small plaque sitting between the ends of the silver chains. His clothed where a pair of khaki cargo shorts and flip-flops, which sat just beside the table off of his feet and a white v-neck T-shirt with the right sleeve sewed closed at the shoulder when asked why he was wearing such an casual style of clothing he simply stated that he was working on his tan. At the moment his assigned medic, a middle aged woman named Keiko, was stationed at the door, sitting in a third chair calmly sipping her tea and reading a book. Her assignment as his current care giver was the topic of conversation.

"That's what I said, poor woman used to be the head of B-wing and now she's stuck babysitting me! I feel bad for her, all that skill wasted on a guy like me when she could be saving lives." Naruto complained, while simultaneously buttering up the dark haired woman, who gave a quiet giggle at his attempts." I understand why Ino took some time off but to take someone so high up off the job just to take care of one measly little shinobi, I can wipe my own ass, thank you." He finished, one finger waving at Shikamaru before returning to its previous position on the table.

"And then she transferred to a new patient." Shikamaru reminded as he moved another piece on the board."Why did she do that?" He asked, leaning back in his chair as Naruto studied the board before him.

"What makes you think I know what goes on in that pretty little head of her's?" Naruto quipped before picking up one of his pieced and capturing one of Shikamaru's.

Shikamaru gave the redhead a wry smile."So you think she's attractive now do you?" He said earning a look from Naruto.

"Dude, It's Ino. Even your lazy ass has to admit she's beautiful." He said in a 'Are you an idiot' kind of tone.

"That she is. But what about Sakura?" The Nara heir returned as he captured another of Naruto's pieces.

"What about her?" Naruto said as he responded to the Nara's move with a capture of his own.

"I thought she was your one true love, the only girl in the world." Shikamaru stated as he moved yet another of his pieces, preparing a trap for his one eyed opponent.

Instead of moving Naruto turned his head to look out the window he was half leaning onto, and gave a quiet sigh.

"When I first set out with Jiraiya I promised myself that if, by the time I came back, she wasn't over Sasuke by the time I returned I would simply let her go." Naruto looked back at his friend with ice in his eyes." I wasn't awake for a day before she began to grill me about whether or not I saw the bastard, so what does that tell you."

"She's not over him." Shikamaru said as Naruto set a captured silver king in the board.

"I'll admit it hurts, knowing that the woman I've spent the majority of my life fighting for wont even give me the time of day. Instead she begs me for every scrap of information I have pertaining to the bastard that left her to die in wave!" Naruto's voice had begun to break near the end so he took a moment to gather himself together. Shikamaru thought about the purpose of these games. It had been nearly a month since they started. A week after the Nara clan heard of the death of his cousin Shikaru they had traced the evidence back to Naruto, who his father had called in to discuss his side of the story. Upon arriving he found Shikamaru sitting alone at a shogi board after a fellow clansmen stormed out of the room having lost a game to the shadow prince. Shikamaru invited him to a game, saying his father would be awhile till he arrived and he was in need of an opponent. Naruto accepted, unaware that Shadow king himself was observing the game. Naruto was a surprisingly good opponent when he set his mind to it, but even then he still lost the game. Naruto had laughed it off good naturedly saying that he had enjoyed the game and would like to play him again sometime. Shikaku appeared, walking out of a shadow to stand beside Naruto. He explained how he observed Naruto and how he determined he was an honest and caring individual based on the way he played the game and asked to hear his side of the story. After hearing everything his father simply nodded and walked off. Later on he announced that the clan would seek no retribution for the death of Shikaru and pulled Shikamaru to the side and asked if he would play with Naruto at least once a week from now on. Which is where we are.

"I cant say I empathize with your situation Naruto, but would you please refrain from yelling, your scaring the deer." Shikamaru said at the end of his pondering, pointing out the window to a herd of deer prancing away into the safety of the forest. Naruto flashed him a shit eating grin before his face fell back into a frown as he looked away from Shikamaru and leaned his head against the wall.

"Sorry, its just that even now I'm having trouble with stubborn women not accepting my affections." Naruto said glumly. Shikamaru responded with a raised eyebrow as he promoted one of his pieces.

"Oh really, What with your peculiar taste in women I assume she's rather unique, is it someone I know?" Naruto flashed a devilish grin as he slammed one of his pieces down onto the board before he shot up in his chair with a bang as it toppled over.

"Yeah! It's Keiko, she utterly refuses to marry me!" Naruto shouted, pointing an accusatorial finger at the forty year old woman, who had been serenely sipping her tea, which was splattered all over the room from her spit take. looking at Naruto as if he had grown a third head before said read head dashed at her, the woman shot up from her seat a and sprinted out the door with Naruto hot on her heels with a shouted." Don't you run from me!"

As they disappeared from sight a laughing Shikamaru turned his attention back to the board. His laughter died as his skin turned pale white. Shikamaru looked in horror at what was on the Shogi board before him. He, in all his years as the undefeated champion of Konoha only losing to his father, had lost to Naruto Uzumaki the dead last of the academy.

"That son of a bitch!"

***]elsewhere[***

"Achooo!"

"Are you okay mother, your not getting sick are you?" Asked a young and melodious voice.

"No darling, go back to your training." came the tones of a mature woman.

"Yes mother."

***[End of chapter 4]***

 **Oh me, oh my Who could it be? Why did Ino transfer? And will Keiko ever give in to Naruto's burning passion? Review and tell me what you think!**


	5. Broken Hearts and Devilish Intentions

_**Sorry for the delay but life happened and I had stuff to do. This chapter was orignianaly going to be longer but i decided to cut it in half so i could update this story for you all. I hope you enjoy.**_

 _ **Please R/R**_

***]Broken Hearts and Devilish Intentions[***

Far above the forest floor on a thick and strong branch stood a masked man who watched the sleeping village between the gently swaying branches that framed his vision. He wore a heavy, high collared cloak emblazoned with scarlet clouds above a umbral background that obscured his body from his neck down to his shins. His face was covered by a dark orange cyclopean mask that spiraled out from the single eye hole placed just over his right eye. Every so often his lone eye would shift away from the village to gaze longingly at a rectangular object in his hand as the wind through the trees gave life to a mournful wail.

The arrival of a plant like figure forced him to quickly hide away the object in the folds of his cloak as the figure arose from the ground as one would from water. The figure was a man who wore the same cloak as the first but his top half was encased in the jaws of a Venus flytrap which he bent to his will to open, revealing the monochrome face, half white as snow with a yellow colored pupil, the other half black as ink with a solid yellow eye.

"Is it done?" Asked the first man.

"It is." Said the dark half of the figure, characterized by a deep voice.

"Time to play!" confirmed the white half, its tone high pitched and childish.

"Will you insure he is able to escape the village?" inquired the Dark half.

"I will indeed, he's family after all." Spoke the masked man before he vanished in a swirling vortex as the monochrome man vanished once more the same way he had come.

***][***

Naruto was asleep in his apartment when a soft tapping resounded through the room.

"Naruto~…" Came a sweet feminine voice reverberating in the night, slightly muffled as it made its way to his ears.

"Naruto~…" the woman called again, accompanied by the sound of a finger gently tapping three times on glass softly, rousing him from sleeps loving embrace.

"Come on baby, I know you can hear me..." Naruto heard the ghostly double timber, but something was off about the voice. It was like it was somehow familiar but he couldn't quite place it.

"Naruto~ Let me in~."

With a groan Naruto rolled onto his back and lifted himself on one arm while rubbing sleep from both his eyes with the other.

"Wha…Who is it?" He groggily called out to the darkness, a musical giggle was his reply.

"Why Naruto, don't you recognize your dear Sakura-Chan? I'm hurt. I came all this way to see you and you don't even recognize me?" The voice admonished playfully.

"Well to be fair I cant even see you." Naruto defended himself as he looked around the room which seemed to be swathed in this ethereal light that only outline anything that wasn't the floor. The voice claiming to be Sakura giggled once more.

"Look out onto the balcony."

Naruto turned his eyes to the large sliding glass doorway that allowed access to his balcony and gasped at what he saw there.

Outside on the balcony was a figure, her rose colored mane dancing in the wind. The figure was undoubtedly Sakura but her face was covered in an eerily carved wooden mask with a blank face and her body was clothed in a shear pink night gown that barely reached her thighs and left little, if anything, to the imagination. Once she saw that he was looking the apparition waved.

"Hello Darling, did you miss me? I missed you." Naruto couldn't believe his eyes, why was she here?! And why was she dressed like that in October?! It must be freezing!

"Why are you here?" Naruto said rising from bed, wearing only a pair of red pajama bottoms. The woman on his balcony beckoned him with the 'come hither' motion of her dominant hand.

"I've come to give you your present..." She said her voice deep, husky, and seductive as she ran her free hand down her body and to her sex. Naruto could feel his libido awaken at her words, but deep in his mind something screamed at him to get away from the window he now stood before.

"My birthday isn't until a week from now." Naruto corrected, placing a hand against the glass the apparition mirroring his movement, except she leaned her whole body against the glass as if eager to feel his presence.

"I couldn't wait anymore. I want to feel you tickle me…" The mask leaned against the glass, just beside where his face was."…From the inside." She breathed as she laid a hand on her stomach, directly over the area where her womb resided and Naruto felt both his libido and the silent voice scream once more.

"Why the mask?" Naruto inquired, and Sakura giggled once again.

"I do have a reputation to uphold you know, now let me in this teddie isn't exactly warm you know." She playfully demanded him as she began an erotic dance.

"What about Sasuke?" Naruto asked her. Sakura didn't even stop her dance, if anything she redoubled her efforts to seduce him.

"What about him?" She dismissed as she leaned her back against the glass and slowly slid down.

"I thought you were saving your self for him, being in love and all." He reminded.

"Let me in and Ill show you _exactly_ how wrong you are, He's been gone a long~ time." She said, her tone husky and suggestive.

"I've always wanted to test out that stamina of yours, I bet its not all its cracked up to be!" She challenged, poking out her shapely rear and giving it a teasing wiggle.

"I thought true love conquers all." Naruto said, turning away from the window to go back to bed." I think its best if you went home, I don't know what you came for but I wont take advantage of you." he said over his shoulder. He was just about to fall back into his bed when he noticed the sound of weeping.

Sakura stood dead still, having stopped her sensual dance and now stood facing the window with her shoulders shaking gently.

"How could you do this to me? I thought you loved me Naruto." She sobbed, curling in on her self, Squatting down on her heels and hugging herself with her arms tightly. They stayed like that in the darkness of the night. Naruto watched her cry, out in the cold half naked. He opened his mouth to say something but Sakura shot to her feet and slammed against the glass. She hit the barrier with so much force that it propelled her backwards and to the ground, but Sakura simply got back up and continued to barrel face first into the door.

"Let me in!" _**BAM.**_

Again.

"Let me in!" _**BAM.**_

And again.

"Let me in!" _**BAM.**_

And again.

"Let me in!" _**BAM**_

And again.

Blood began to seep out from under the mask but she kept bashing her head against the glass, staining her lingerie crimson as she continued screaming for Naruto to let her in. Naruto could do nothing, his body was frozen. He couldn't scream at her to stop, he couldn't even move. He was only able to watch as cracks began to appear on the thick wooden mask.

"Let me in!" _**BAM**_

The web of cracks grew.

"Let me in!" _**BAM**_

And grew.

"Let me in!" _**BAM**_

And grew until finally the mask shattered, revealing the bloody, torn up face of the woman he loved. Her nose was smashed and bloody was smeared all across her featured as bits of bone protruded from her face, tearing through her skin in so many placed her face resembled a pin cushion. At some point her teeth had sawed trough her lips, which hung to her face by thin ribbons of flesh as her mouth sprayed blood with every scream…

***][***

Naruto shot up in his bed, searching the darkness frantically for any sign of the mutilated girl. Through the dim light of the moon he could see that he was not in his cheap little apartment but instead he was in his room at the hospital, where he had been staying for the past two months. With a sigh he rose his remaining hand to his face. He had been having that same dream for about a week and it was always the same, Sakura would try to get him to let her in, he'd refuse and she would precede to bash her head against the glass over and over again...

Naruto couldn't get the sound of wet, squishy thuds to cease their incessant echoing in his frazzled mind nor could he banish her mutilated visage from him, and it pained his heart greatly. For all his bravado about letting her go he couldn't stop himself from loving her and, even though it was just a dream, his body screamed at him to search for her just to make sure she was okay, to hell with the late hour! But at the same time his weary heart knew that she wouldn't appreciate nor return the sentiment, the dark part of him, the one filled with all of his hatred and self doubt whispered to that into his ear daily and even he had to admit by now that it was possible.

Naruto stood from the bed and walked towards the large sliding glass window that shielded him from the outside world to look out over the sleeping village. Much had changed in the five years since he left, a few more shops had sprung up here and their and five years worth of expansion and technological advances had improved the economy of the city sized village. All of his friends had advanced to Jonin rank, a few even taking on students, leaving him behind as a Genin if he was still viable for service. Tsunade had offered to make him an honorary Jonin but he had declined, what use was a rank when he couldn't even mold chakra anymore.

Iruka had settled down with the ex of his former assistant mizuki after a stint in ANBU, Shikamaru and Temari had been seeing each other on and off for the past year, Ayame was dating some guy named Ryu, Asuma had gotten together with Kurenai and the two had a small child together, Kiba was on his fifth girlfriend in as many months. Naruto had never really considered himself handsome, which may have been a side effect of his tumultuous childhood, but he knew he wasn't ugly at least until now.

Naruto turned his attention away from the slumbering city to gaze at his reflection. He had left his hair in the wonderful braid the Nara children had placed it in, not having the heart to destroy their hard work, but he had removed the eyepatch which allowed the empty socket to gaze out at him with its hollow glare, and with the moonlight dancing off of his pale skin he could see the full extent of his agonized flesh, his body was the canvas for a sadistic magnum opus. Burns, like those of a brand, pockmarked his skin, while those of another kind left their discolored reminders. Thin scars, both short and long, carved their dance hither and thither along his body with strange teeth like indentions could be seen around his chest and neck. And while he couldn't see them he could feel the stiffness in the skin on his back to know of the extent of the masterpiece which climaxed in the stub of his right arm and the hollow of his corresponding eye. Tsunade, Sakura, and Ino had done all they could to keep him alive and whole, and for that he was forever grateful and could never blame them for what he had lost, he only blamed himself. If he had been stronger he wouldn't have even been maimed in the first place, if he had been stronger he could have protected Hokage-jiji, if he had been stronger he would have been able to bring Sasuke back. Maybe then Sakura would've seen how much of an asshole he was and came to her senses and maybe then she would finally...

The mutilated visage of Sakura flashed before him, replacing his own scarred reflection in the glass, dull green, bloodshot eyes sunken into a bleeding and shredded face glared out daggers from inside the mirrored world of the window the screaming clawing its way back to the forefront of his mind.

Naruto forced himself away from the accusatory eyes of his nightmares and made his way to the closet, snatching a random assortment of clothing and jerking them on, careful to remember to grab the eyepatch off of his nightstand before he disappeared into the night.

***]three hours later[***

Ino's house

 **Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep Beeee-BAM!**

A delicate hand fired out from beneath rich purple blankets to smash the annoyance that was the damn alarm clock before falling limply to dangle off the side of the bed. She hated getting up so early. Being on the morning shift at the hospital was Tsunade's way of punishing her for abandoning Naruto for no reason at all, as Ino couldn't bring herself to see him. She agonized over what he must think of her. She had been his doctor for weeks and they had known each other for years before he disappeared, they mite not have had the best of relationships but she respected him none the less for his never ending optimism and bravery. Sure he could have been stupid and immature at times but who among us is perfect?

In her minds eye she gawked upon the memory of Naruto standing tall and proud above her would be defiler, a warrior triumphant as the light of the dying sun cast his crimson hair into a dancing blaze on the wind as he inspected her, his crystalline eye full of warmth, concern, and kindness. In that moment she saw the man he is, not the boy he once was, and she found herself yearning. At the moment she was just so overcome with emotions that all she could do was cry as he led her out of the alley and into the open, but now she felt a burning in her heart. His voice had become like honey on her ears, when it once had been a nuisance. His touch set her skin on fire, when she once shied away. His embrace melted her very core, when she once couldn't imagine it doing so. She had refused to let him go until she was forced away by her frantic mother as her clansmen demanded to answers upon sight of the state of their heiress. The clan, including her father, glared daggers as they prepared to obliterate the mind of her one eyed savior, who stood silent amongst the chaos, why should he even try to defend himself? He was just the demon after all.

It was only when she had wrested herself free from her mother only to cling to his naked torso did they stop to listen when she vehemently denied all accusations towards his person while she sobbed into his scarred chest until she was pried away once more, this time far more gently, by her family as her father, Inoichi, apologized to him. She didn't know it at the time but she missed the warmth that seemed to radiate off him in waved, it made her feel safe. It had taken her a while to notice the signs, she was halfway into her requested leave, handed in by her father, when it smacked her in the face like Shikaru.

Ino had cocooned herself in a mountain of blankets, dressed in her most unflattering clothes possible, big baggy gym clothes, the same ones she had worn everyday since the _incident_ , and underneath she wore a matching set of thin, lacy, skimpy, and most importantly, _**orange**_ lingerie. She had bought them as a gag gift for Sakura, but now she felt like she couldn't bare to part with them. Ino had found the box as she searched her closet for the sweat suit and, without a thought, she threw open the lid and took it and the suit with her to the shower and she hadn't changed since. She would both bathe and wash her clothes but she refused to wear anything else even though she knew it was silly. Anyway, she had been lying in bed when an interesting thought sparked a reaction.

 _I wonder if Naruto thinks I look sexy?_

She soon began to think and talk about Naruto constantly. _What are his new hobbies? Does he like my hair this way or that way? Maybe I should wear more orange?_ kinda thoughts. When her mother finally forced her out of the house she was constantly on the look out for his glorious mane while she shopped for clothes that ' _showed her beauty but not her booty'_ as her mother would say. It wasn't until a week before she was to return to active duty when a comment from her father derailed her. She had been manning the register, humming softly to herself while sketching on some spare sheets of paper. Inoichi had come out of the back room and peeked over his daughters shoulder to she her adding the finishing touches to heart made from the disembodied heads of a suspiciously Naruto and Ino-esk like faces, their foreheads touching to make the top and their long hair flowing downwards to intertwine and form the tail. The two faces smiled lovingly at each other as they nuzzled noses. It was surprisingly good, even Inoichi, over protective father he is, had to admit it was kinda cute. It was when she had wrote the words, Naruino, in the space between their necks that he chose to spoke.

"Geeze princess, its almost like you have a serious case of hero worship."

On the surface it seemed like an innocent enough comment, but to the Heiress of a clan know for its mastery in the matters of the mind it was quite troubling. It made her think of her recent behavior, and what she found was painful.

Up until then she had convinced herself that she had fallen madly in love with one Naruto Uzumaki, the idea made her heart soar! He was so perfect! Kind, caring, handsome, romantic, strong, and loving; all the things that she wanted in a man. It didn't matter that He was infatuated with Forehead and, according to Shikamaru, it no longer mattered to Naruto. She knew how much he longed to feel loved, to be embraced out of the need for his presence. To wake up every mourning with a smile because he was no longer alone and was finally accepted for who he was. She knew how much he yearned for the passion she could provide, she could see it in his eye. He was lonely, world weary, and tired so very tired. Even though he fought fiercely to hide his pain it was still there, she could see it, hiding behind that dazzling smile.

But maybe, what if she wasn't in love with him but the idea of him? What if she was only grateful for his help and not for his existence? If she where to approach him like that she would not only be disappointed by reality but would continue to hold him to a higher standard until she finally grew disgusted. She saw how much he anguished inside himself, as if he loathed his very existence. She knew how he must have felt when Sakura forced his burden upon his shoulders. Bitter, lonely, self loathing, bone crushing sorrow butchered his heart even as he smiled and shouldered the weight of her world before marching over the shattered remnants of his own.

Sakura had doomed him with that promise, and at times Ino felt that she had done it on purpose. Using his Nindo against him.

Could she, for her own temporary happiness, do the same?

***]End chapter Five prt 1[***

 _ **Please review or P.M me and tell me what you think about how im doing the character progression and to tell me how to improve.**_


	6. Talks and Revelations

**Wow, I think I got off on a tangent with this one. Its longer then most of my other one's my a** _ **lot**_ **. anyway R/R, Enjoy**

***]Talks and revelations[***

***]Streets of Konoha[***

Naruto had been wondering the streets of Konoha for a while, attempting to forget his horrible dream while having no clear destination in mind for his nocturnal journey. It was after four in the morning so not many people would be up at this time of the night. As he walked Naruto mulled over several of his most recent troubles, even as those night owls he did pass scowled at him as he walked by. To ignore them had become almost second nature by now as he traveled through the village on his day to day.

Naruto soon found himself near the Suna garrison, a tactical move done by the current Kage's to strengthen ties between the villages. Suna had around twenty shinobi stationed here with Konoha mirroring those numbers in Wind country. In case of emergency those stationed at the garrison would respond to the best of their capabilities. Both had a figure of high value leading the garrison to avoid any betrayal on the part of the separate host villages, Shino Aburame represented Konoha and some Kekkai genkai wielder named Pakura represented Suna. Naruto had seen her around the village, she was a handsome woman to be sure and her hair certainly made her stand out in a crowd. At 5'4'' She was rather tall for a Kunoichi and her body was toned and tan from the relentless desert sky. Her outfit consisted of a black top with neither sleeves nor a back that split near the hip to overhang a pair of form fitting short pants with the rest of her long legs hidden beneath layers of bandages. The obi around her waist secured her clothing as a pair of purple arm warmers went from her shoulders to her wrist. Naruto had to admit, she was a beautiful woman by all regards and any man would be eager to court her but as with every time he even considered the idea of going out with someone he felt a deep seat of dread form in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't like the fear of rejection of the fear of being hurt, no it was more like somehow he knew that doing so would bring down the wrath of some distant all knowing god upon them. Hell, he felt it just talking to a member of the opposite sex that was even remotely attractive but forced it down out of shear politeness. He wondered why he felt this way.

 _Why did I feel this way?_ He thought as he walked down the street. _Am I afraid that by moving on I'm some how going to anger Sakura?_ Naruto hmphed at that. _Why would she give a damn about whether or not I'm with someone. Hell she'll even be ecstatic that ill be off her back so she can get on her back for that bastard._ Then a different thought occurred to him. _What if it has something to do with my disappearance? If so then why? what happened that was so bad that I would fear any intimacy with a female lest I bring pain and suffering to myself?_

So deep was he in his thoughts that he hadn't notice he had arrived at the garrison before he slammed into a contradictory wall, soft and hard at the same time. With a shout between them both he and the wall came tumbling down. Naruto and the one he collided with had landed into the dirt with Naruto struggling to keep from tipping over due to the absence of his right arm.

The person he had collided with had been Pakura. Pakura had been passing out the letters sent to the shinobi under her command by their families back home and had been digging in the bag when she was knocked to the ground. the remaining letters where scattered around her.

She bolted from the ground, ready to tear the person responsible a new one when she saw the one armed boy struggling to stand. It seemed he wasn't used to the difference in balance caused by the loss of his arm and every time he rose from the ground he slipped and slammed back down. With pity in her heart she moved to help him.

Naruto cursed as he hit the dirt for a third time. _Dammit gravity!Why wont your sorry ass lighten up._

It was during the middle of his fourth try that he felt the tell tale calloused yet soft hands of a Kunoichi attempt to support him.

"Stop!" He growled. He hated how people always pitied him. Shizune, Tsunade, Keiko, Kakashi, Ino, Sakura, Hinata. All of them treated him like he was broken. Like he was some charity case that needed constant attention, clucking over him at all hours of the day. He was only missing an eye and an arm for Christ sake! It wasn't like he was missing the whole set, he could still function. He wasn't broken, not yet. "I can do this." He asserted when he felt the hands linger on his form. The hands hesitated for a moment more before slipping away, their owner stepping back to watch.

Pakura had been surprised when the boy demanded she leave him be but as she relented to his request. At first she had simply attributed his stubbornness as a pitiful attempt at pride and simply stood by to offer assistance when he finally relented. It wasn't until she watched him place his arm in the center of gravity while dragging his right leg up to support his weight as he pushed off the ground to stand above her that she looked at him with some small measure of respect for his grit.

She studied the boy as he stood up with his back to her. He wore a modified version of a white long sleeved shirt that was now dirty, a loose pair of gunmetal gray shorts with tapered orange stripes down the side, and a pair of sandals that only had the part that went in between the toes. He had remarkably long hair for a boy, done up in a tapered braid, red as a setting sky, that had slid over his shoulder during his battle against gravity. Pakura knew of him, but didn't know his name. She had seen him around the village from afar and from what she could tell he wasn't very popular with the locals. She herself had no clue why because he always seemed friendly to those that did approach him. Pakura would've considered him quite handsome if it weren't for his obvious disabilities. She wasn't cold enough to say that he was ugly because of it but a woman in her position as the sole wielder of the scorch release and a high ranking shinobi made a lot of enemies, so she couldn't afford to get tangled up with some one who couldn't defend themselves.

For a moment the boy lost his balance but before Pakura could even move she heard a soft plink of in the darkness, so faint that even she, a highly trained jonin, could just barely hear it, and the boy straightened himself. She wondered what it was but that was pushed to the back of her mind when the boy turned to face her. She had never really gotten close enough to see the boys face clearly, so when she saw the dark leather eyepatch that covered his right eye the only thing on her mind was _Damn this kid couldn't catch a break could he._

"Sorry about that, its just that everybody keeps treating me like I'm made of glass." He said flashing her a smile before his eye caught sight of the scattered letters." I apologize for that, I didn't see you there, Names Naruto by the way." He said, offering her his hand. Pakura looked at it for a moment before taking it.

"Pakura. That name sounds familiar, You wouldn't happen to be Naruto Uzumaki now, would you?" Pakura inquired as she let go of his hand, the read head grinned.

"That's me. I wonder how it is you've heard of me. Last I checked I wasn't all that famous, sure I was in a movie but that was a long time ago." He said as he flipped his braid back over his shoulder. Pakura looked at him questionably, _This kid was in a movie?_

"I'm not much of a movie person."Pakura said." It wasn't to long ago that myself, along with the majority of our joint forces, was crawling all over the elemental nations looking for you. The Kazekage was determined to find you." Pakura explained, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck bashfully.

"I'm sorry about that but its good to hear that he cares. Last time I saw him Gaara was about as emotional as a rock. How is he by the way?" The blonde queried. Pakura crossed her arms and shifted her stance.

"Last I heard he was on his way here, should arrive in a day or two. To be honest I don't really see what's so special about you." she said. Naruto looked down at his phantom limb.

"To tell you the truth, not much. Believe it or not, I used to be a shinobi, but before that I was just the village outcast. I had no friends or family to speak of, I was orphaned in the Kyuubi Incident. Well..." He paused thoughtfully. "Orphaned isn't really the right word. I never knew my parents. I was raised in the orphanage, got kicked out when I was four and survived on my own since then." He explained before looking at her with a grin."Well with the help of some friends, but pretty much everybody else hates me." He finished somberly, a morose look in his eye.

"Why?" Pakura asked Naruto, who placed his hand on his abdomen with a sigh.

"I'm like Gaara, times nine." He hinted and Pakura's eyes widened. This was the Jinchuriki of the nine tailed fox! He seemed so normal, not at all like the veritable robot Gaara was. He laughed and joked and smiled, not at all the emotionless machine she had come to assume all Jinchuriki became in order to control the beasts inside them. A loud exclamation brought them both out of their thoughts.

"Whoa! Hey guys look, Mom sent cookies! Even had them placed inside a Uzumaki package so they would still be fresh!" yelled one shinobi.

"Dude, your Mom is awesome!"

"Hey I want some!" shouted another.

"Forget it Sinji, these are mine." Replied the first one.

"Then why tell everyone asshole?!" said yet another shinobi.

"Why, to flaunt it in your faces of course!" said the first one.

"Fuck that, I'm getting those damn cookies!" Resolved Sinji.

"What?! Over my dead body!"And so began the battle of Chokola Chip began.

Pakura chuckled over the antics of her unit before turning back to Naruto, who seemed to be immersed in deep thought as he watched the guys tussle over the cookie's.

Naruto was wondering about his own mother and if she would have done the same. He didn't know who or where she was. If she had died giving birth to him then their would be a grave at least, so that led him to believe she had abandoned him. But why? Was she ashamed of him? Did she hate him like the rest of the world? Was it possible that she really was a whore and he was simply a mistake that was left behind as she returned to Uzushiogakure? He had always wanted to go there and find out but the old man wouldn't allow it. _'Your only a child and I cannot spare any one to escort you there and back, not even for you Naruto Kun.'_ He had said. And when Naruto begged to be allowed to go with the envoys to Uzushiogakure he was shot down again. He had hated it but now he understood why he couldn't go. It would have been far to easy for just one of the Shinobi guards to slit his throat in his sleep before dumping his body somewhere. That or an enemy nation could have captured him at any time. He understood now, but he wasn't happy. It just gave him one more reason to despise the situation that was forced upon him, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to hate the Kyuubi for its role in it all. But what he didn't understand was why his mother just abandoned him, why didn't she love him? why wasn't he ever good enough them? Sakura, Ino, his mother, all the women in his life always seemed to abandon him, It was only a matter of time until Tsunade did so as well. Shizune was sure to follow her master and Ayame had been rather distant as of late. Hell, Anko wasn't even here. He hasn't seen hide nor hair of her since he returned, maybe she was just tired of him as well. He always seemed to disappoint every one, maybe he should just-

"Hey kid."Pakura said, dragging Naruto free of his thoughts with a warm smile. Naruto looked at her with a hooded eye, wondering if he had already managed to piss her off. Pakura saw the look in his eye and she didn't like it, not one bit. It was the look of a man thinking of doing something stupid, she had saw it once during the war. A woman she had served with had been captured and interrogated, she had been used like a whore until they finally found her. For weeks afterwards she had that same look in her eyes until one day her husband found her hanging from the rafters in their apartment. that woman was her Sensei when she was a Genin, and had practically raised her along with her husband, who died a month later covered in the blood of those responsible.

"Why don't you come in and let me introduce you to the guys, I'm sure they'll love to meet the man who saved our Kage." She offered."I'm sure they'll even give you a cookie~" She baited but the boy just waved her off.

"I'm fine, thanks anyway." Naruto said as he began to walk off. Pakura didn't like the way he was acting, a moment ago he was all smiles but then he just flipped. Pakura couldn't let him leave like this, she had to do something, anything. If she didn't and he did what she thought he was going to do, Gaara would never forgive her. Hell, shed never forgive herself. Pakura jogged to catch up with him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hey why don't you take me out for dinner. Come on, hot stuff what do you say?" Pakura even went so far as to wink, making sure he had a clear view of her cleavage which, while lamentably not much, usually did the trick. She knew she was a beautiful woman, even exotic, and she took pride in her looks. So it was a major blow when Naruto slipped out or her grasp without so much as a gander.

"I don't need your charity, I've had enough of that to last me a lifetime." And with that he was off. Pakura had half a mind to snatch him up by his braid and drag his ass back to the garrison. But she simply let him go, watching as he disappeared into the darkness of the village heading towards the Noble quarter, Before she slumped back into the garrison in defeat.

***][***

Contrary to Pakura's fears Naruto was, in fact, not in danger of suicide just yet. Instead he had decided to follow the advice of his therapist and pay him a visit. The mans name was Inoika Yamanaka. He was a typical member of his clan. He enjoyed flowers and was skilled in the art of the mind. And like most of his clan he was thankful to Naruto for what he did to protect Ino, which is why he offered his services free of charge and had told the boy to contact him anytime he needed him. Rain, sun, or moon the only time the man said he was unavailable was when he was in the bathroom ' _because that would be awkward.'_ He had said. He was an old man, and he didn't have much to do other than see to his patients.

So Naruto, for the first time ever, was walking towards the Yamanaka compound at around four in the morning to see his therapist. Despite assurances to the contrary he felt that he was already imposing on the old mans goodwill and so had always tried to deal with his thoughts himself until their next appointment. But today it was different, he guessed it could be because it was his birthday or that maybe it had to do with his mother, he felt that he needed to talk to somebody and Inoika always said his door was open from three A.M. to three a.m.

The night guards where surprised to say the least to see him, the only time he had ever visited the compound after the incident was the first few days after the incident. He had limped up to the gates, begging to be let in to see Ino. The guards finally told him that Ino refused to see him and demanded that he left her alone. So he left, and they hadn't seen him since. Now he was before them, his head hung low and his stride soft, but strong.

"What is the purpose of this visit?" Asked Inoiba, the guard to the right of the gates.

"I wish to see Inoika, he said that if I have any concerns to see him." Naruto said quietly. Inoiba looked towards Inoibachi, who nodded. Silently telling him to honor his request.

Naruto watched as Inoiba vanished through the gates, gone to fetch Inoika. Him and the other guard sat in silence for a few minuets before Inoiba returned and gestured for Naruto to follow.

***][***

Naruto was led to the main house, which confused him at first until they arrived at a door and he was gestured inside. The room was cozy and smelled of wildflowers. It had fine wooden furniture with cream colored cushions. At the center of the room sat a squat desk, finely carved form mahogany. At which sat Inoichi, head of the Yamanaka clan. The door closed and Inoichi motioned for Naruto to sit at the adjacent chair.

"I apologize for bringing you here but I felt I was long overdue a meeting with you." Inoichi said as Naruto sat down, soon after a servant, a brown haired woman with light brown eyes entered and set down a tray of tea. This was planed.

"I'm actually surprised your awake at this hour." Naruto replied as a cup was placed before him.

Inoichi smiled at him."The same could be said for you, I always get up this early. I like to watch the sun rise before work. What's your excuse?" Inoichi pointed at him then lazed his hand back down.

"I was coming to see Inoika, he said to come to him if I had any problems." Naruto said as the woman served the tea thanking her as she served him.

"I see, What problems are we talking about?" Inoichi said before taking a sip of his tea.

"Ah, wonderful as always my love." Inoichi smiled towards the woman, who folded the tray against he chest with a smile.

"Thank you darling, So this is the famous Naruto I've been hearing about. I thank you for what you did for my daughter, It was a very noble thing you did for her and a great service to Konoha." Inomi said smiling down at the now uncomfortable redhead.

"How is she by the way?" Naruto asked, momentarily leaving the topic at hand.

"Dead to the world right now, but that is not what you meant is it? She had a rough time after the incident but she should return to work sometime today. Now, back to those problems of yours." Inoichi said as his wife moved to stand behind him.

"I've been having some rather disturbing dreams lately, they should be in my file." Naruto said, referring to his psychological profile that was kept in Inoika's office. Inoichi up to his wife and spoke.

"Beloved, would you mind fetching said file while Naruto tells me about his dream?" He requested his wife, she nodded and bent down to peck his cheek before disappearing from the room. Inoichi looked at Naruto expectantly.

"Well you see, its like this..." The red head began.

***]a few minutes later[***

Inomi returned holding a thick manilla folder, just as Naruto finished recounting his dream. Handing the folder to her husband she moved to refill Naruto's tea, which he gladly accepted. Inomi soon left the room, knowing that her presence would breach patient confidentiality. Naruto sipped his drink quietly while Inoichi read over his file. The file suggest that Naruto has violent depression and severe ptsd and that he has repressed his memories of his imprisonment so as to remain sane, but this has manifested as horrible nightmares. The file suggest that a forcible removal should only be a last resort in case conventional methods prove ineffective but cautions that this may have dangerous effects on his psyche. Naruto's medical records stated that whatever he went through during those two years was horribly traumatic and it was Inoika's belief that if they where to suddenly remove the blockage it would shatter Naruto's mind. Inoika also believed that, for some reason or another, Naruto had undergone drastic behavioral training during his disappearance.

Inoichi looked up from the file for a moment to analyze the Uzumaki. He was calmly sipping his Tea, an innocent thing to be sure except there was something…off about it. From what Inoichi knew about the boy he was smart, due to private tutors hired by the toad Sannin, but culturally unrefined. Usually slurping away at his meals and guzzling down his drinks, but now he was sitting with his legs crossed at the knees with his teacup in his hand while the saucer sat next to him on the table. His pinkie was jutting out away from his hand at a soft angle as he took gentle sips in a graceful and refined manner, almost like it was second nature. Totally different from what he expected, come to think of it, his whole mannerisms were unexpected. He only spoke when spoken to and gave thoughtful and precise answers to anything asked of him and moved with a grace befitting a prince. Inoichi decided that since Naruto was unaware of these changes in himself that he should remain unaware and settled on tackling the separate issues.

"So what do you think is the meaning of this dream, Naruto?" Inoichi said, leaning back in his chair and breaking the silence between himself and the boy. Seemingly unaware of the burning ears behind the slightly ajar door.

***]Just outside[***

Ino had just mounted the stairs on her way out when she caught the tale end of her fathers sentence.

"…Naruto?" Ino stopped dead in her tracks. Naruto? what's he talking about him for? Ino knew that she should just carry on with her day and Ignore it but her inner gossip combined with her budding emotional turmoil over the redhead would let her leave it be. So, with the stealth of a cat she crept up to the door and pressed her ear against the crack.

***]Back with Naruto[***

"I think it could be a reversal of the roles between Sakura and I, me refusing all attempts of affection from her instead. I feel like I've been banging my head against the wall over and over again, screaming and crying while she just teeters on by in her little fantasy." He said, placing his cup back down on the table.

"I see. What about the mask? Could it be that the apparition doesn't represent just the one girl but a multitude of those in your life that just takes the form of the one you feel is the most responsible for your emotional turmoil? If so then who?" Inoichi inquired and Naruto shuffled nervously. As if his answer would upset the man. Inoichi quirked an eyebrow.

"Its Ino Yamanaka isn't it? Look Naruto if you feel Ill be upset about your answer then rest assured that, while I am her father, I am also a professional and I learned a long time ago to keep my personal feelings out of the office be it here or in I. T. we are here to get to the bottom of your issues, and if Ino Yamanaka is apart of them then so be it." He reassured the boy, who looked slightly relieved at his answer.

"Its just that…" Naruto began before taking a moment to look into himself." I feel…abandoned, like I served my purpose and was dropped. I know that its selfish but I cant help it. Ever since Shikaru she's been avoiding me. Every time I came to check up on her she wont let me see her and it makes me wonder if she's scared of me. I killed Shikaru right in front her. I knew he was up to something and I tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen to me so I followed them. And when I saw what he was going to do I just...snapped. The next thing I know he's dead and she's crying with her dress torn up, I could see her…her…you know."He said, turning as bright as his hair when he realized he was telling Inoichi that he saw his daughters naughty bits. But Inoichi motioned him to continue." So I took off my shirt and wrapped it around her. I had just gotten it tied when she grabbed me and started crying hard. I had never seen her like that, so vulnerable, I was speechless."

"What happened next?" Inoichi prodded.

"Well, I led her out of the alley and placed her in the wheelchair and brought her to the compound. All I could think about was how pretty she was when she cried. God I'm such a pig!" Naruto slammed his fist down on the table hard enough to make the desk shake like and earth quake, nearly knocking over the tea set."Who finds a woman's tears attractive other than a demon? Maybe the villagers where right and I am one."

"I'll have you know that my wife is beautiful no matter what she's doing. She can smile, laugh, or cry and she is still the most charming and irresistible woman in the world in my opinion. Ino takes after her mother so I don't fault you for it, its why I've spoiled her rotten after all." Inoichi said matter-of-factly as he steadied the tea tray while still reclining in his chair.

"Alright I know the rest of the story so why don't you tell me about Sakura? Do you feel that she's abandoned you as well?" Inoichi asked as he placed his hand back into his lap, weaving the fingers of his hands together.

"Why wouldn't I?" Naruto huffed."All I've heard from her is Sasuke this and Sasuke that, whenever she pities me enough to deign me with her presence that is. Haven't seen her in two weeks." He admitted.

"I thought she's the one who stopped you from killing yourself when you first woke up." Inoichi reminded.

"I was not committing suicide, I was trying to get rid of my hair."

"By breaking a mirror and bringing the shattered glass to your neck." Inoichi challenged.

"Did she actually say that? I remember feeling absolute loathing of my hair, I just wanted it gone."

"Then why isn't it?" Inoichi asked.

"She…she said that she liked it. Said that it was beautiful and that I was beautiful. I still don't like people touching it." Naruto admitted shyly.

"Then who braided it?" Inoichi asked.

"Some kids at the Nara compound, they where so fascinated by the color and I couldn't tell them no so I forced myself to stick it out. the whole time I felt like someone was breathing down my neck...I tensed up, I wanted to scream, to fight but I just kept looking in the mirror. watching those kids put flowers and beads in my hair..." He trailed off, wondering why exactly he felt that way. Inoichi felt that they where going into dangerous territory and decided to change the subject.

"Naruto, I'm going to tell you something about Ino." Inoichi began, dragging Naruto out of his train of thought." When she came home that day we all thought you had done something to her and was displaying it. Why we thought that way I couldn't say, but I was to concerned with my daughter to calm down the rest of the clan. but when she broke away from her mother and clung to you protesting your guilt we took a step back and realized that you had protected her, and for that I owe you more that you could imaging. Ino has always dreamed of giving herself to the man who really loves her, but her taste in males leaves much to be desired. She, like so many other girls, looks for the guy whose 'cool' and 'handsome' and can make their life an adventure while ignoring those that don't fit that description, something that hurts the ones tossed on the sidelines like you were. The Guys they do go after may have been great at the start but get so full of themselves when they realize that all of those girls are throwing themselves at them that they turn into complete assholes." Inoichi said pointedly at Naruto, who realized that Inoichi was talking about the relationship between Himself, Sakura, and Sasuke."Usually these girls give themselves to these guys thinking its true love when all it really is, is just a game to those boys. And when its over they move on to the next one, leaving the sidelines, the so called 'nice guys' to pick up the pieces. Sometimes the girls realize their mistake and fall in love with the nice guy, but most times they simply move on to the new cock of the walk while the 'nice guy' is sidelined once more. Inomi and I raised our daughter better than that because we know exactly how it feels to be pushed aside." Inoichi said, leaning forward in his chair."I've been in your shoes Naruto, at least regarding romance. I was born the third son of the former head of the Yamanaka, Inoichika. To the world I was the spare of the spare. My father was always to busy with Inoichika Jr. and Mother was busy with Inoika, my second brother. I was left in the care of books and nanny's. One day I met this wonderful and charming girl when I was fourteen. We did everything together and she trusted me with her deepest secrets. Including her love for one Fugaku Uchiha. She told me volumes about how wonderful he was, skilled in ninjutsu, top of the class yadayada yada. I never like Fugaku, he made his way through every Kunoichi in our year, leaving broken heart after broken heart. Until one day it was her turn. Oh, she was so happy dragged me along from store to store asking for my opinion on everything. She kept saying it was the best day of her life, while I felt like I was in hell. I had loved her since the day I met her during my seventh birthday alone in the park, but I bit my tongue and told her Fugaku would die to see her in that red dress. They scheduled the date for a week later, and everyday she talked my ear off about him." Inoichi paused to take a shuddering breath.

"She came back the night after in tears. He had taken her virginity and immediately broke up with her. She had to restrain me from marching over to the compound and scrambling his brain. She wailed all night long and I consoled her until she fell asleep, then I carried her home only to walk back in the rain. Father beat me till I couldn't stand for coming home covered in mud and soaking wet. But I didn't care, I was walking on air because my love told me I was the best guy she knew. For about a month I was happy, I finally thought she would return my feelings. So I gathered up my courage to ask her out, dressed in my best and picked her bouquet of wild roses, her favorite, all in the hopes of her saying yes." Inoichi finished and sipped his tea. Naruto had his attention bolted to every word Inoichi said and soon grew impatient as the silence drew on and on.

"Well did she!" Naruto almost screamed.

"No." Inoichi replied."She opened the door with a 'guess who got asked out today?' and so the cycle continues. She would sleep with a guy and get dumped to come crying to me. Eventually I just gave up and started avoiding her. Then the war started and I lost both of my brothers, whom she slept with as well, Joined ANBU for a few years until one day I got hurt bad enough that my father forced me to resign. He had no more children and mother had died of grief and he was to old to remarry. I had been home for all of two minutes when in she came like a hurricane, forced all the nurses my father hired to leave and forced her way back into my life. I was laid up for over a year and each day she was right there by my side taking care of me and when I was finally able to stand she got on her knees and begged me for a date. I was so shocked I agreed." Inoichi opened his mouth to say more just as Inomi entered from a side door with fresh tea to kiss Inoichi square on the mouth.

" .ever." She declared proudly, punctuated with a kiss, leaving Naruto dumbstruck.

"Wait a minute. hold on, you mean she-" He began but was cut off by Inomi, who was now sitting in Inoichi's lap.

"Regrets every tear, every scar, and every time she gave to someone other than this goofy, irresistibly lovable, idiot." Inomi giggled like a school girl when Inoichi wrapped his arms around her but turned serious as she looked from her perch towards Naruto.

"If their is anything to take away from this, its that if you love something set it free, and when she finally pulls her head out of her ass she'll come running. If not then move on, there are plenty more fish in the see. You've given Sakura enough time, let her go like you said and live your life. If she doesn't realize her mistake then it wasn't meant to be." She said before nuzzling her head beneath Inoichi's chin. Hearing the graceful and refined Yamanaka matriarch curse seemed to hammer home the message. So Inoichi bid him good day, as the sun was rising and Naruto made his way out into the empty hall and out of the compound.

***]Ino's room[***

Ino had been pondering over what had been shared during the meeting when the door to her room opened slowly to reveal her father, standing their with a folder in his hands and purpose in his eyes. He would have been a terrifying sight if it weren't for the fact that his face and neck was pockmarked with scarlet copies of her mothers lips.

"We need to talk." and indeed they did.

***]with Naruto[***

Naruto had been on his way to his apartment, feeling lighter and resolute to do what was needed. He was going to let Sakura go and if she doesn't come back then so be it. He was just crossing the street when it happened...

An explosion rocked Konoha.

***]Chapter five end[***


	7. Heartache and Echoed Memories

***]Heartache and Echoed Memories[***

 _please…I'm…right here…help…me..._

 **bum-bum, bum-bum.**

 _look at me…I'm dying and…you…don't even see me…_

 **bum-bum, bum-bum.**

 _why…why am I never good enough…why is it…always him…_

 **bum-bum...bum-bum.**

 _I…I…love you…I've…always loved you…so please…I beg you…_

 **bum-bum...bum-bum.**

 _look at me…just once…see me and ignore him…_

 **bum-bum...** bum-bum.

 _look at me…look at me…look at me…look at me…look at me…look at me…_

bum-bum...bum-bum…

 _look at me…_

bum…

… _ **LOOK AT ME!**_

***][***

Explosions rocked the village as the frightened populace dashed away from the epicenter of the blast their faces bathed in the crimson light of the dawn. One man rushed towards the destruction, the populace paying him no mind. Perhaps they hoped that whatever it was would leave his cold corpse to as feed for the crows. This man ran barefoot through the crowded streets, his one eye keeping watch for a clear path through the chaos, His single arm gently demanding passage from the populace. His clothing as simple as they were dispensable, in fact it wasn't even proper clothing for a battle. But it could be said that was the nature of a surprise attack, catching one off guard and ill prepared. His clothing was a white one armed long sleeved shirt that was now dirty and torn in places from catching onto things as he ran, and a loose pair of gunmetal gray shorts with tapered orange stripes down the sides, and his barefeet pounded along the red dirt streets of Konoha. Sometimes a panicked civilian would grab him in order to warn him of his folly, or to beg for his help in some matter or another, but as soon as they caught sight of his vibrant red hair, fallen out of its braid and down his broad shoulders tangled and twisted in its descent, and his amethysian eye they spat in his face and turned away. The man didn't let this deter him, nor did he allow himself to become enraged. No, what he did was wipe it away and continue on his journey. For this was no ordinary man, this man was none other than Naruto Uzumaki and he was used to such treatment.

As Naruto ran on he searched the rooftops for the Anbu that should be responding to the attack on Konoha, but he saw none. Either they had already arrived or they where focused on some other attack elsewhere and this was a simple diversion and therefor a waste of his time. But the continued explosions of violent jutsu and the fear on the peoples faces told him otherwise and he soldiered on through the frantic streets, quickly wading through the river of hatred the fleeing people managed to spew at him even as they ran for their lives. They blamed him for what was happening, what else could it be but the demon in their midst. They didn't care that he was running towards the fight not away from it. They didn't care that he was sworn, even in retirement, to protect them. All they cared about was their stubborn ways of hate and fear towards a innocent child. To afraid to realize that not all his scars where made far from home, and placed on a innocent child. One sacrificed to save them. The Yondaime sacrificed the innocence of a child, his happiness, his dreams, the love of a family, and the camaraderie of a home to save them from the monster at their door. And all they could do was despise the one who was the key to their salvation. Its a wonder they weren't dead already.

A mother dropped her son during a violent shockwave and, in her panic induced state, kept on running. Naruto past her by and swiftly captured the boy in his arms, just as the building beside them collapse he sprinted through the smoke and passed the child to her arms. Only to receive a slap to the face. The mother screamed curses at him before he yanked her out of the way of an errant water dragon, which slammed into the front of a restaurant to obliterate the area. The mother looked on in shock as she realized what he'd done and turned to look at him, but he was already gone disappearing into the smoke.

***]a few minutes later[***

Naruto slid to a stop in the remains of what was once the northern gate of the village. The bodies of the defending Ninja was littered like trash around the charred and shattered remains of the once imposing gateway to the wondrous city of Konoha. A few of the bodies where unmoving, while others gasped and writhed in pain. Fire littered the area and smoke choked the air. Naruto had exited the street directly adjacent the gate, his eyes worrying over the ones who lay scattered about but they lowered to a glare and his lips pulled back into a snarl as he spotted the one left standing.

In the center of the battle ground, appearing out of the smoke, stood a lone figure. Nearly as tall as Naruto and where Naruto was the scarred dawn the man could be said to be the flawless dusk. His hair was black as pitch, spiked to the back, and his skin pale as the moon. A loose shirt was open to reveal his pale chest, flawless as porcelain and muscled, his dark blue pants and blue mantle was secured with a large purple rope belt, thick as a mans arm, tied into a knot. His arms was hidden by his shirt up to his hands, his forearms where protected by bracers, his hands bare to allow for a greater feel on his long sword that hung from his rope belt in the back. This man was one Naruto hadn't seen in years, yet he still radiated an aura of arrogance. Sasuke Uchiha in all his pride and arrogance.

Although Sasuke was a major reason for his problems in romance, and the state of his fellow shinobi was questionable at best. The reason for Naruto's anger was the female grasped in his left hand.

Yukie Fujikaze, formerly known as the legendary actress Koyuki Kazehana the now the ruler of the land of spring, her incomparable beauty was marred by blood and bruises. Most of her face was covered in a massive multicolored bruise as blood trickle from her swollen lips and she appeared dead, but with a weak moan she lifted her head and smiled her million watt smile, still beautiful in all its glory even through the coating of blood. Her left eye was swollen shut and sported a large purple bruise while the sky blue of her right eye gazed fondly at the former shinobi before her.

"Naruto." She muttered softly past her blood stained smile despite the macabre changes forced upon him she still recognized the handsome man before her. No man she had ever known had ever made her feel the way she did towards the shinobi she felt…at peace whenever she thought of him. She hadn't seen him since he left with his team but the feeling still pervaded. NO man had ever fought as hard for her as he had. NO man had helped her without some ulterior motive. He had fought so hard his own body forced him to stop, he had saved her country, her forgotten home, no matter what anyone said, no matter how much praise they laid at her feet it was this one man, then a child, who had secured the future of the land of snow/spring. And he had done it for her, not for wealth, or fame, or even because she wanted to. He somehow knew, deep down, that she wept for her nation. Sure, he said it was for the good of the people but he only said that in order to make her realize what she herself wanted. He saved her from herself, and for that, even though he was so much younger than her, he would always be the love of her life. She saw the way he looked at the girl with the pink hair, and she saw the way she looked at the one with black hair. Sakura was utterly and totally in love with Sasuke, but Naruto was to stubborn, to eager to save someone from herself, that he couldn't see that in her eye's, he would always be last place. But to Yukie/Koyuki Fujikaze/Kazehana he would always be number one so she kept up with him after he left, fully intent on saving him from himself(i.e. _for_ Herself.) Every mission, every achievement, even every town and village he went to during his three years with Jiraiya and the power he found she kept tabs on. Reading the reports every night before she went to sleep, clutching her little redheaded plushy. But then he was gone, stolen right out from under her. She nearly abandoned her nation just to look for him, but didn't only because of the blood shed for her to snatch it away from the clutches of her treacherous uncle, blood shed by her father, her manager, those loyal Shinobi, and most importantly Naruto. So she went on, focusing all her energy into the nation, treating it like a child, nurturing it and watching over it like her child, her's and Naruto's. Totally resolute to her task.

But then, a miracle! Naruto had returned alive, bathed in blood and barely hanging on but he was alive!

Now it was only a matter of bringing him home. She knew the way the village treated him and as soon as she received the missive from the Hokage of him return and his discharge she had set out in preparation. It had taken her a week to draw up the necessary items for her plan. She was dead set on bringing him back to Kazehana. Since he was no longer a shinobi he held no ties to the village and could leave whenever he wanted to, but she was fully prepared to handle any problems that could come to pass. She had been so eager to begin the near month and a half journey she only procured the barest minimum of her guard in order to travel faster. Her Uncle had grown the country considerably in her absence, using cunning and guile he tripled their holdings. But she had nearly doubled that since she took the throne.

"Happy birthday, where's the cake?" Sasuke said with his cold and arrogant tone as he dropped Yukie to the ground beside him." Oh wait, I forgot. No celebrates loser day." Sasuke looked down at the unconscious princess besides him, ignoring Naruto's glare as he slowly slide out his blade."Guess I picked up this bitch for nothing. Oh, well time for her to die." He said, before bringing the blade down. But he was caught just before the blade pierced her pretty little neck. Looking up he saw that golden chains had wrapped themselves around the blade. His eyes followed them to their source and found Naruto standing with his hand thrust out, a golden chain sprouting from his shoulder to snake down his arm, wrapping around it over and over the bulging muscle of his arm until it reached his fist, pulled back to stop the blade that was connected to him by the chain.

"So the dead last has learned a new trick, good boy." Sasuke said, not noticing the chains snaking around his legs until he was violently wrenched back and slammed into the village wall. These new chains sprouted from Naruto's back, thicker and stronger than the first.

The battle ensued anew as the Uchiha shot out of the crater his body made. His sword sung through the air on the way to Naruto's head but was blocked by a tendril of chains. Sasuke began to barrage the Uzumaki with several strikes but for every swing of his sword their was a golden chain to meet it head on, causing the two to sing in a song of protest. To the outside observer it seamed as if the Uchiha was hummingbird dancing around a blazing fire, Naruto's hair dancing in the wind created form their struggle. Eventually a strike made it through only to be stopped dead by a golden barrier around the redheads torso, he had wrapped the chains around him in a makeshift armor. Several smaller links sprung from the main body to wrap the blade as the Uchiha attempted to pull back only to receive a knee to the gut for his trouble.

During the confrontation several Shinobi had arrived and taken the wounded, including the Princess away, for treatment. Among those that had arrived was Kakashi, Kiba, Shikamaru, Hinata, Ino, and a few other Jonin of the Rookie 12 with their former instructors. They, excluding Kakashi, where visible shocked to see their crippled friend hold his own against an S ranked missing nin(due to his killing of Orochimaru and Itachi) as well as the chains he used to do it, he didn't have that ability before so how did he have it now. Amidst the swirling crescents of steel and dancing chains he stood like a rock, his face frozen in a glare of determination and resolve. His brows furrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line of concentration as a fire burning in his eyes. When Naruto kneed the Uchiha in the gut only to throw him back they moved to help only to be stopped by a barrier of chains that sprung up from the ground.

"Deal with them!" He shouted before bull rushing the Uchiha, confusing them until a massive sword buried itself in the ground at their feet, slapped of its original course by the whirling chains it was over seven feet tall and shaped like a butcher knife with a semicircular cut out near the hilt and a circular cut out near the tip, this was the legendary Head cleaver. Looking towards the Gate revealed the presence of three others. The lone female of the group had hair just like Naruto's but only much shorter, short and spiky on one side while slightly longer and smoother on the left side, and wore black framed glasses, her crimson eyes kept flicking back and forth between watching them and gazing at Sasuke, who had just landed a kick to Naruto's side sending the Uzumaki back. An androgynous white haired male had his arm forward in a throwing motion, a grin on his face revealed shark like teeth. Behind the two stood a man that dwarfed the rest of his team.

Following Naruto's order, despite them all out ranking him, they moved to engage. While Ino moved to help Naruto but was stopped by a thick golden chain erupting from the side to block her path, the chain had small blades sticking out from the sides and glowed with a brilliant aura of gold.

"Go help Yukie!" He shouted at her, but kept his eyes on the Uchiha."You could be killed if you stay here!"

"I'll be fine, It's you I'm worried about, Now get this thing outta my way!" She demanded, trying to push past the chains that kept springing up to stop her path.

"I am far less important then the princess of the most advanced nation in the world and the Heiress to a prominent clan, now get your ass to the hospital now!" He ordered, yet still she kept struggling. Naruto had no idea what she was thinking but it was going to get her killed. Knowing he couldn't keep her from staying out of it Naruto decided to remove the temptation. He rushed towards the Uchiha just as he was finishing a set of handsigns, and shoved a fully formed Rasengan directly into his stomach which sent the Uchiha flying for a few feet before he was snatched out of the air by several chains then slammed into the ground before being tossed over the wall and far into the forest.

"There, now there's nothing for you to worry about so, would you kindly get your blonde butt to the evac so you can help the other trained medics." He said with a sarcastic smile before he leapt after Sasuke, using his chains to propelled himself over the wall and through the forest outside.

Ino stared after him dumbfound, how could someone missing both an eye and a limb be able to stand up to a fully trained shinobi, much less one that killed two S ranked criminals. Where did those chains come from? Was he always able to use them? No, he didn't have them before he left so he must have gained them during his trip. Whatever the case Ino felt that familiar tension building up in her belly and she knew, hero worship or not, she loved one Naruto Uzumaki.

***][***

Karin Uzumaki was having a bad day. Not only had she been forced on a death march towards Konoha for a week, while on her period she might add, she just recently learned that her clan survived the war with just barely enough members to even be called a clan. Orochimaru had kept her in the dark most of her life, forcing her to heal his most valuable assets and isolating her to keep her clan from learning of her existence and vice versa. She was again shocked to discover that they where here to kill one of the few remaining members of her family, Naruto Uzumaki. When she first heard he was an orphan she figured he simply took their name for some reason or another, but the hair said it all. She had only met one other Uzumaki, and that was Tayuya. A foul mouthed flutist that sought no comfort from her family ties. Karin had heard that after the invasion three years ago she was taken in by the Uzumaki clan, who wanted her even when she was in a coma, and she now served as a guard for the royal family.

She loved Sasuke but her fellow clansman seemed to demand her attention during the fight. He moved with such graceful ferocity and stood his ground against the Sharingan. She figured that he was some long lost member of the royal family, His use of the fabled adamantine sealing chains proved this even if she couldn't get a good look at the color of his eyes. She herself could use a broken form of the chains since her great-great-great grandfather was the former clan head. Which she used to defend her self from the lightning enhanced katas of the Gentlefist.

***]fifteen minutes later[***

Karin hit the ground with a thump, writhing and screaming in pain from the electricity running through her body, delivered via the chain in the shoulder of the Hyuga princess. Thus was exploited the major weakness of the broken form of the Adamantine sealing chains, they did not produce the aura that the royal chains did that protected the user from any chakra channeled through the chains.

Hinata herself huffed irritation as she nursed her wounded shoulder, the redhead had dared say her love for Sasuke would trump all opposition. The little hussy didn't realize she was digging herself a grave saying her love for Sasugay was stronger her love for Naruto-kun. Showed her. Hinata gave one last jab to Karin's temple, effectively knocking her out before she stood up and looked around for Naruto. She saw that the others in Karin's little group had abandoned her to run as she looked she caught a glimpse of Sakura running head long out of the village gates.

"Now where, oh where could she be going?" Hinata wondered, a little tiffed that she was being ignored when she was obviously injured in her little gamble. The sound and sight of a massive firestorm in the distant forest was her answer and for a moment she wondered briefly who that could be before her eyes snapped open and she attempted to chase after that idiot only to be reminded that she was currently bleeding out, spotting a glowing rebar laying in the burning remains of a house she gritted her teeth and moved towards it.

" _I swear if that bitch is doing what I think she is I'm going to fry her flat chested ass_." The normally refined an graceful Hinata thought as she seized the opposite end of the rebar and brought it to her shoulder. _Forgive me Naruto-kun._ she prayed before pressing the hot iron to her porcelain skin.

***]with Naruto[***

Naruto spidered up a tree so fast that he was able to avoid the storm of fireballs that chased him up through the branches, his chains whipping behind him to slap away any and all that got to close. once he reached the top he kept going, using his momentum and the eight thick coils of chains on his back to propel him into the air. Whipping around he formed a Rasengan on the tip of each coil and hurled them four at a time into the forest below, first right then left. His shirt had been torn to shreds by a hailstorm of kunai, thankfully stopped by his _chainmail_. Out of the forest below a massive ethereal hand shot out of the trees and slapped Naruto back to the ground.

As Naruto fell he fired chains off in a number of direction, seeking to break his fall, and as soon as he felt on of the chains sink deep into the trunk of a tree he heaved himself in that direction just as a enormous sword blasted down from above, cutting a deep trench into the forest. Spinning around the trunk he sawed through it and flung it towards Sasuke's general direction, only for it to be slapped out of the air by the massive skeletal figure Sasuke called _Susanoo._

"What's wrong Dobe, does the great Susanoo scare the little loser? Oh poor baby, why don't you run home to mommy! Oh, wait she didn't want you either, just like the village, your father, and just like Sakura! How does it feel to always be in last place? Tell me you clan less bastard!" Sasuke mocked from inside his monstrosity. Every word grated on Naruto's fragile psyche but still he fought on, ducking and dodging the mighty Susanoo, tearing trees from their roots and hammering at the spectral warrior.

"Just die already!"Sasuke screamed after a while."Hurry up and die so I can get started on rebuilding the Uchiha with that little whore Sakura! Tell you what I'll even through in that blonde slut Ino and the Milk cow Hyuga, give their pathetic lives some meaning by being the mothers to the mighty Uchiha!"

And that, as they say, was the straw that broke the camels back. Naruto's brilliant amethyst eye dulled for a moment before splintering like glass, the shards peeling away from the center to reveal a glowing crimson hell beneath. His body was enveloped in a malicious crimson aura of damnation and he whirled his body around, a hateful scarlet claw bursting forth from the remains of his shoulder and grasps Susanoo by the body, completely wrapping around the chakra construct and lifting it from the ground and dragging it kicking and screaming towards the infuriated Uzumaki. Great barbed chains, red as blood, sprung forth to tear the mighty Susanoo asunder. The lumbering giant was soon freed from the burdens of his arms and legs, drawn and quarted like a thanksgiving turkey. Sasuke screamed in pain as his surrounding where crushed by the wicked fist before he was suddenly slammed downward.

Sasuke looked around his crater dazedly, thinking it was over, until Naruto began beating him with Susanoo's arms, the Uchiha to dazed to cut off the flow of chakra to the construct. Again and again the legs, arms, and chains beat down onto the torso of their origin, seeking to shatter the outer shell like a lobster to get at the meaty insides, all the while Naruto slowly advanced on the crater with murder in his eyes. The outer shell gave way and the mighty Susanoo faded away, leaving the heaving Uchiha waiting for his reckoning.

Naruto leapt from the lip of the crater and slammed into the ground next to the _all mighty_ Uchiha and grasped him by the throat with his spectral claw and lifted him skyward with little effort.

Sasuke gaped in horror and pain at the intent in the Uzumaki's eyes as he lowered his left hand and grasped him roughly by the testicles.

"Lets just see about that, shall we!" Naruto roared in a voice like a thousand demons as squeezed Sasuke's testicle to near bursting. In a desperate move Sasuke attempted to use the Tsukiyomi on Naruto but a barbed chain shot out from behind Naruto and yanked out the corresponding Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Ugh ugh Ahh." Naruto said with a grin."I'll be taking that." He said as Sasuke screamed in pain and humiliation, to which Naruto laughed as he tightened his grip.

"Now…where were we?" Naruto grinned.

Just as Sasuke was to be sterilized forever a massive sword appeared, slicing though the spectral claw and forcing Naruto to drop the Uchiha. Naruto whirled around to face a fleeing Suigetsu, chains sprouted from his body and seized the white haired swordsman by the legs and shattering them. Suigetsu scrambled to get away, dropping his sword in the process, clawed at the dirt as he was pulled towards the crimson demon, who laughed merrily at his struggle before a lightning covered fist exploded from his chest, a chidori courtesy of one Sasuke Uchiha. The crimson glow evaporated from around him as well as the chains and claw, the vermilion blaze in his eyes was snuffed as the shattered amethyst slide back over the gateway as he slumped to the ground.

***]Sakura[***

Sakura dashed through the trees, heading towards the battle field of her paramour. She had thrown caution to the wind as soon as she heard the name Sasuke. She didn't care that he was attacking the village, and she didn't care who he was fighting. She was eager for the chance to convince him to come home. She was sure Naruto would thank her for it, where ever he was. She was sure he had been evacuated with the other invalids and patients. He was probably foaming at the mouth trying to get free of his caregivers in order to get at Sasuke.

***][***

Naruto was indeed foaming at the mouth, but this wasn't because of some desperate attempt to free himself, this was because he was choking on his own blood.

"Happy birthday loser." Sasuke expressed as he held the one eyed man aloft as he slowly slumped, Sasuke's arm once more buried deep into his chest. "Such a fitting present for a failure like you."

With little effort the rouge tossed his once upon a time teammate away like trash before he turn towards the sound of running feet, his arm dripping with the blood of the fallen shinobi, he was met by the green eyes of Sakura Haruno, widened in disbelief as she looked upon the face of her crush. Unmindful of the downed form of Naruto behind him as blood pooled beneath his stilled body. It was like she had developed tunnel vision because her entire world consisted of one person, and it wasn't Naruto.

"Sa-Sasuke? wha- why are you here?" Did he come back for her?! Sakura felt hope blossom in her chest. He did. He finally came back. She was so ha-

"Sasuke your bleeding!" Sakura bellowed, rushing in to help. Sasuke himself just stood their for a moment before he slowly raised his scarlet hand, and began to play with the slick life blood of his former teammate. His eye was long stanched with what little he knew of medical jutsu and was hidden beneath his fallen hair. Sasuke chuckled softly at Sakura's stupidity as she reached him, her hands aglow in preparation for whatever was needed.

***][***

 _Sakura…please…I'm…right here…help…me..._

 **bum-bum, bum-bum.**

 _look at me…I'm dying and…you…don't even see me…_

 **bum-bum, bum-bum.**

 _why…why am I never good enough…why is it…always him…_

 **bum-bum...bum-bum.**

 _I…I…love you…I've…always loved you…so please…I beg you…_

 **bum-bum...bum-bum.**

 _look at me…just once…see me and ignore him…_

 **bum-bum...** bum-bum.

 _look at me…look at me…look at me…look at me…look at me…look at me…_

bum-bum...bum-bum…

 _look at me…_

bum…

***][***

"No, actually its-" He was interrupted by several bladed chains exploding from his chest, sending out a geyser of blood onto the face of a horrified Sakura before they retracted back into his chest to allow his body to fall.

"Mine." Naruto said flatly as he came into view from behind the falling body of Sasuke. Naruto looked like hell, covered in his own blood that fell from his mouth as well as leaking from the gaping whole in his chest and several other open wounds on his battered body, but his eye looked at her with such deep and writhing anguish that she herself felt like crying, miraculously forgetting the Uchiha for a moment until she collapsed to her knees, crying and screaming for Sasuke to stay with her, ignoring the man who loved her for the one she loved.

All the while Naruto looked on, tears falling down his face as his world collapsed around him. Literally, blackness was creeping up around the edges of his vision until the only thing he saw was Sakura healing Sasuke, Naruto had made sure to avoid any of the important parts. A courtesy the Uchiha had not returned, blood filled his lungs and he breathing came in shallow gasps, similar to rapid hiccups. But still he stood, gazing down at his world as she once again pushed him aside. Forever last place.

***]Hinata Hyuga[***

The Fulgarian Princess arrived to a scene strait out of her nightmares. A war torn landscape, trees uprooted and victim to all manner of carnage. Blood and the weapons who shed them littered over the scene. Sakura kneeled over a unconscious Sasuke, and the Piece de resistance, an abandoned Naruto laying in a pool of his own blood. This was her nightmare, this was her hell, and this was a moment when the normally taciturn and graceful princess felt like tearing _someone_ apart with her bare hands. But she had more important things to worry about then the murder of useless trash.

Hinata rushed towards Naruto's prone form, falling to the ground and staining her expensive attire with Naruto's blood, her hands aglow in a green light. She had prepared for just this occasion. Somehow Sakura had come back to her senses enough to notice Hinata's presence.

"Hinata, help me! Sasuke wont wake up!" Sakura begged, causing the Hyuga princess to freeze for a moment before turning her head eerily towards the offending banshee, her Byakugan flaring. Sakura felt an ominous aura flood the area and she wondered why until a swift backhand knocked her aside.

"Shut your mouth!" Was all Hinata said before turning back to Naruto, her eyes softening as she did so.

"But-but its Sasuke! He needs help!" Sakura scrambled back up, holding her burning cheek. This time Hinata didn't even deign to look at her.

"I know who it is. I just don't care." Hinata focused on reattaching the severed veins and arteries.

"B-But-" Sakura began but Hinata cut her off.

"Name one good thing he's done, for your or Konoha." Hinata demanded, causing the pinkette to stop and think.

"He saved Konoha during the invasion." Sakura offered, remembering how Sasuke chased after the Ichibi.

"Wrong, that was Naruto. He defeated the one-tailed Jinchuriki." Hinata shot that down.

"How would you know, you weren't even there!" Sakura huffed, causing the Hyuga princess to fixed her with a short, but powerful, glare.

"My family is the most powerful clan in the nation, and I'm the Heiress. We did not get this without knowing the who, what, when, and how. Try again." Hinata returned to her work as Sakura thought it over.

"He saved us from Zabuza!" Sakura gave with a smug smile, which faded when the princess spoke.

"wrong again, Naruto." Sakura deflated.

"He said he thought my forehead was beauti-Oh come on how could that have been Naruto?! I was right there!" She shouted when she saw the look in the Hyuga's eyes as she drained the blood from Naruto's lungs.

"What are the three basic techniques that all Shinobi must know in order to graduate the academy?" quizzed the yamato bishoujo.

"kawarmi, bushin, and Hen-" Sakura slapped herself on the forehead."Idiot."

"Exactly, I was there when he changed into Sasuke and I know why." Hinata looked Sakura dead in the eyes."He wanted to know what you thought about him, and you said he was annoying and was destroying your happiness when all he's ever wanted was your happiness, he devoted himself to bringing back that little bastard because you wanted Sasuke. Even when he knew that with Sasuke back he would never have a chance with you, He cried himself to sleep both times. And how do your repay him? by ignoring him while he's bleeding to death five feet away from you, you little fanwhore. Now why don't you take your little _Sasuke-kun_ back to the village so he can be put in a cage where he belongs and ill take care of the man I love." Hinata declared, flashing her chakra three times in a set pattern. Almost immediately a group of Hyuga shinobi appeared to carry Naruto away. Not even looking at the fallen Uchiha as they stepped over him on their way back to the city.

***][***

Once again Naruto lay unconscious in a hospital bed and he was once again alone, the demand for talented medics forcing the Hyuga princess to leave him. The room was dark and the only noise was the sound of the heart monitor. This peacefully drone was interrupted by the sucking sound of a vacuum as a portal appeared in midair, spitting out the masked form of the one known as Obito who spoke no words as he produced a black vial from beneath his cloak. He did, however, observe the metal construct that took the place of Naruto's right arm. Various symbols were etched into the metal apparatus, likely to allow the boys chakra to flow through and allow him the use of his jutsu.

Obito chucked, even after all he's been through. Both at the hands of his organization and those of the village, Konoha still refused to allow their trump card a peacefully retirement. It was just as well, Obito supposed, for what Izanami had in store for the boy he would need his strength. Obito looked at the vial in his hands, yet another gift from she-who-invites to the boy. Obito still remembered how the boy screamed when she ripped the Kyuubi from him, quite differently from what they had planed, and he, Obito, had tried to ease the boys pain but the beating he received at the hands of Izanami quickly curbed future urges. But still, he mused, the _reward_ Naruto had gotten after was seen as a great price to pay… that was until the screaming began again...

Obito shook himself free of his memories. It was no time to reminisce. Obito tore away the bandages around the boys chest and opened the vial, the substance inside writhing in vile anticipation as he lowered it towards the raw cavity of the boys chest. After pouring it in Obito was quick to vanish, he had enough of what came next.

Just as he disappeared Naruto's eye shot open as he was covered in a black film that spread out from his chest.

The screams echoed down the halls of the hospital and out into the night.


	8. Ink and Steel

***]Ink and steel[***

Obito teleported into a dark antechamber lined with many pillars, paintings, and tapestries of artful mastery. A set few of the numerable torches where lit, casting the chamber in a dim almost sensual lighting. At the far side of the room, on a dais, sat a large four poster canopied bed. The curtains were a deep crimson, the same color as Naruto's hair to be precise, with bright gold and umbral black twisting, caressing the fabric with the same softness as a lover, into various flourishes and filigree decorating the gauzy fabric to merge together at the center, where the fabric separated to allow entry, in the form of a tribal style heart. The hollow in the center was left red while the black and gold enveloped it to shape the heart, some form of symbolism, Obito would guess based on his knowledge of the woman who owned said bed.

In the darkness of its confines, the torchlight just barely reaching the inner sanctity of the curtains, a figure moved.

From a nest of burgundy sheets and supple pillows rose a sensual and voluptuous figure bathed in shadow. The silhouette gave no distinctive features like her face or skin tone but boasted wide hips and a thin waist, an impressive bust and a sinful figure. the shadow stretched in such a way that her chest was thrust forward as her arms waved in the air with a yawn. All in all she was a devilish and ethereal beauty, and where it any other man then Obito that stood before her, even just her shadow, they would be instantly enamored with her. But Obito's heart lay firmly in the cold, and dead, grasp of another which allowed his mind to be firmly set in the head upon his shoulders.

"Is it done?" The figure questioned lazily as it settled back down in the nest of pillows and sheets, the indistinct blot of darkness gazing slothfully at him.

"Yes." He said quickly, careful not to draw her ire. Her beauty may be astonishing but the ragged corpse of the once immortal Hidan riveted to the far wall with the remains of his own weapon was a tribute to how her lethality matched her beauty. To kill an immortal with brute force alone...Obito shivered. He himself had been faced with her ire before, and he was not eager for a second course. Unfortunately for him, in his attempts to avoid the useless chatter she hated so much he had forgotten one teensy, little thing. Something the figure was quite quick to rectify.

A baleful crimson claw of ethereal might blasted out from behind the curtain, ever so careful not to damage the fine silk yet still a blur, as her eyes glowed a merciless red, impaling the Uchiha on merciless fingers before he could react so hard and so fast he was jolted into the air.

"Yes _WHAT_!" She demanded, lifting him higher into the air and allowing gravity to pull him further onto the wicked talons. Obito coughed blood, spraying the inside of his mask with the vermilion liquid.

"Yes...your ladyship Izanami!" He choked out between ragged gasps for breath, inwardly cursing the day that woman was allowed within the Akatsuki. Then just as quick and as sudden as it all began he was dropped, hitting the ground in a pool of his own blood with a wet thud as the claw receded beneath the curtains, slowly dissipating into thin air. Izanami yawned once more, bringing her delicate hand to her mouth as she did so, and snuggled back down into the supple pillows and rich burgundy sheets as if nothing happened.

"You can clean that up when your done with your report." Izanami said offhandedly as she cuddled a certain, specific pillow to her chest and breathed deeply.

Obito struggled to his knees, his blood soaking into his clothing.

"The subj-Naruto-sama." He amended quickly after seeing Izanami's eyes shine a baleful red, causing the glow to dissipate." Engaged the bait as planned, using the Adamantine chains to compensate for his...disability-" Obito could practically feel the pride and smugness radiating from the woman from sixty feet away.

"-but, while he was gaining momentum at the start of the battle, once the fighting moved to the forest the bait activated the Susanoo and the tide changed and the plan was back on track. I observed as the bait continued to antagonize Naruto-sama, who ignored him for the most part as he engaged in hit and run tactics. It wasn't until the bait used the one known as Sakura-"

Now he could feel the pride slip and morph into a oppressive loathing. And Obito was once again thankful for his mask as he could allow a smirk to caress his features.

"-and his plans to use her to revive his clan did Naruto-sama react. The last of the remaining Bijuu chakra was used to rip apart the Susanoo and beat the main body with the limbs until it shattered, at which point the enraged Naruto-sama attempted to castrate the last Uchiha. But was interrupted by a members of Sasuke's team, who distracted him long enough to allow the Uchiha to land the final blow. But only after the loss of an eye. Afterwards the girl arrived and tended to the Uchiha while Naruto-sama bleed out a few feet away."

Obito's smirk disappeared along with his ability to breath as the loathing turned into an intense murderous hatred as he fought to breath while releasing his bowels. Obito fell to the floor once more, gagging and gasping for breath.

Just before he surrendered to the darkness the killing intent let up and he greedily gulped down air.

"Continue." Izanami commanded from her place on high in the darkness.

"After he was found and stabilized I snuck into his hospital room and injected the essence directly into his chest." Obito explained at length after he recovered enough, careful to leave out the part where he just poured it directly into the hole his relative had carved into Naruto's chest.

"The symbiosis has begun." He finished.

"What about my other gifts, are they in place?" Izanami inquired from the darkness.

"Yes your ladyship." Obito responded quickly, with a bow.

"Good, you can clean up your mess now." She dismissed and Obito was quick to oblige, feeling her gaze upon him from the moment he began to the moment he disappeared from the room.

Izanami sunk deeper into her bed, gently brushing her fingertips over her flat tummy as she did so.

"Soon, my darling." She cooed, her tone full of love and longing as she sunk further into the sheets before reaching for her special pillow. Clutching the life like and sized Naruto plushy to her chest as she curled a long, smooth, and graceful leg around it and pressing it to her core, allowing her long dark hair, black as ink, to blanket her naked form as she curled around the image of her beloved."Well be together again, and everything will be alright~." She promised the effigy of her distant heartkeeper, staring into the literal gem that was his eye. Planting a kiss on its lips she hugged it closer and drifted off to sleep, a gentle breeze bringing the smell of the sea.

***][***

 _ **BANG!**_

 _ **bOOOM!**_

 _ **CRASH!**_

 _ **BANG!**_

 _ **BANG!**_

 _ **BANG!**_

 _ **BANG!**_

 _ **BANG!**_

The sounds echoed in the night with various patterns of screaming and crying mixed in to the chaos as Tsunade rushed up the stairs from her personal office in the hospital, where she slept on nights like this, to the intensive care unit, clothed in a tight gauzy teddy and nothing else over her underwear, what could she say, even she desired to feel feminine at times. Normally the noises wouldn't be that much of a shock coming from their after a battle but when it came from the isolation unit of the wing it did, because that was a room, not to far from her own, reserved solely for one Naruto Uzumaki.

The screaming became louder and much more legible as she neared the room, its doorway surrounded by unconscious orderlies and shell shocked nurses staring agape into the room. Tsunade wondered what could have forced her most trusted members of the staff into ignoring her loved ones pain. Her musings where cut short, however when Naruto screamed out a request.

"GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!" He screamed, his voice tearful, fearful, and strained. With each time he repeated his mantra a new bang sounded, like he was hitting the wall with something. In a panic she rounded the corner, prepared to rip apart anything and anyone that had reduced her loved one to such a state, and stopped dead in her tracks.

The room was torn to pieces, the bed was flung against the far wall and great gouges where dug into the walls, ceiling, and floor. the various machines sparked and sizzled, some torn from the walls and smashed while others looked like someone had taken a can opener to them, shredding the metal. Blood was splattered here and there and needles littered the floor but the most disturbing sight was that of a mutated Naruto slamming his head into the blood caked steel frame of over turned bed screaming for it to get out.

His skin, once on its way back to its former sun-kissed glory, was now black as ink over his right side. No features could be seen, no scar or blemish, just smooth umbral darkness. His right arm, once empty, was now a wicked monstrosity with long sinister claws. Spikes grew from his wrist, forearm, and shoulder and, a webbing of skin pulled mercilessly over the protrusions. This arm floundered sporadically, slicing up everything near it almost as if it had a mind of its own. Tsunade winced as Naruto screamed once more in pain as the black miasma crawled further across his skin, spikes made of iron erupting from his back and sides, spraying blood and gore across the room. These spikes began to curl inwardly, weaving together to form some kind of armor around his torso even as he writhed in agony, still bashing his face against the frame. Tsunade felt hot tears trickle down her face, her heart screamed at her to heal him, save him, do something to take away the pain and to save him. But she couldn't, she was unable move, unable to do anything but watch. She demanded her body to move but she kept focusing on the blood all over the room. _Dammit!_ She thought. She was able to put it behind her before so why NOW! Why now when he was being tormented right in front of her and she could do NOTHING! Just stood by while he suffered like she did when he was a child.

The sudden silence jolted Tsunade out of it. She looked back at her godson and saw that he had stopped his struggling and was just standing their. Dead still. Staring directly at her. His face was a swirling mixture of light and dark. Splotches of black dotted his features, visible even under the coating of crimson, strangely their was no wounds. His once violet eye had morphed into a bright glowing golden color. The patch on his left eye must have been torn off at some point, to show a far off golden glow shrouded in darkness deep within the socket. His long hair had fallen loose of its confines and now fluttered in the breeze from the broken window, the jagged shards slicing deep into his feet but Naruto made no sound. He just stood their, gazing at her with an unreadable look on his face. Tsunade, legendary Sannin of the hidden leaf, felt like a dove in the eyes of a hawk, and she was suddenly all to aware of the flimsy nightgown that was wrapped around her body. Naruto suddenly sniffed the air, taking in a long, slow, and loud breath swinging his head back as he did so to leave his neck exposed. When the head slowly swung back down, it was affixed with a large predatory grin.

" **mmm**." He hummed in a deep, reverberating tone that sent chills down her spine." **I like you.** " He said as the grin widened and he took a step forward. Tsunade's instincts told her to run, her mind told her to fight, but her body...her body told her to _obey_. It was all so confusing, even for the war veteran, the woman, and the doctor that in the end she just stood there as the dark Naruto grew ever closer. His presence was overpowering, pressing down upon her like it was commanding her to her knees. And a small, ever growing, part of her didn't seem to mind doing that at all.

Naruto came to a stop a scant three feet before her, his frame towering over her as he reached out his still human hand and cupped her cheek sending a thrill through her core. " **So beautiful**." He murmured, softly stroking her face before brushing his thumb over her plump lips. " **So...lush.** " He said before sliding upward into her hair, untied and free to fall in gentle waves past her shoulders and down to her magnificent derriere, driving his fingers through her hair, over her scalp, and down her back where he stopped and pressed tightly against the curve of her back.

" **Soo delectable!** " He said as he roughly pulled her to him, forcing her to step forward only to be squashed against his solid frame. Their closeness brought back a certain warmth that Tsunade hadn't felt in a great many years, not since Dan died in her arms. She found herself leaning into his embrace, wrapping her arms around him as he stared her in the eyes. She melted at his praise, every word birth and new blaze inside her fueling her growing passion until her lips where just the barest breadth away from his own, her eyes hooded and her breath coming in shallow gasps as her core burned with desire. It was such a shame that, all his praise, all his passion and desire, was wasted on an illusion birthed from her own piety.

" **A shame indeed.** " Naruto said, shocking the voluptuous blonde. D-did he read her mind? how... Her frantic mind was cut short when she felt the illusion of her beauty flicker and die, leaving an old crone in the place of the sultry maiden. Tsunade felt shame clog her throat and tears burn her eyes as her body went cold with fear. surely he would cast her aside now that he knew her secret, leaving her cold and bitter on the wayside. _It's not fair._ She thought as she lowered her wizened face out of sight as the _It's not fair!_ burning tears fell once more, this time as a torrent. _It's not fair! It's not fair! It's not fair!_ She inwardly raged. outwardly she began to pry herself away from Naruto, hoping to spare his eyes from her miserable visage but found her self unable to do so as she felt his hand slide upwards to her head and grasps a fist full of her gray hair and yank sharply, forcing her face back to view and her mouth wide in a silent scream.

" **Lets remedy that shall we?** " Naruto crashed his lips against hers and forced his tongue down her throat. Life bled into Tsunade, the years and ravages of time melting away in a sudden fiery blaze of heat and passion as she felt herself return to her former glory. Color, vibrant gold, bled back into her hair as her skin tightened and her femininity regained its former perk and plump. The wrinkles faded from her face and soon a glowing goddess stood in the place of the crone. Her hair fell to her knees and her bodice stretched even tighter then before, digging painfully into her chest and hips, but she didn't care as she and Naruto wrestled for dominance on the battle field of their mouths. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, once again ignoring the pain caused by her efforts as the tanned skin of her supple arms scrapped harshly against the serrated edges of the spikes. Naruto followed her lead, curling his demonic, mutated appendage around her to rest his bladed fingers on her decadent posterior. With a giggle a new Tsunade called a truce to their battle and pulled away."Getting a little ahead of ourselves aren't we?" She smiled wantonly, causing Naruto to smirk and pull her back to him once more, this time with his mutated hand which tore a deep gouge in her gown yet left her interestingly unharmed.

" **We'll see about whose getting a little head in a moment.** " He grinned, leaning back down to kiss her once more even as she slapped him playfully on his left arm which then reached around and cupped her bottom.

Just as things were starting to heat up between the two a bare chested Jiraiya burst through the door to find a teen aged Tsunade half naked, her cloths shredded and revealing her supple body, pressed tightly against the wall with a leg wrapped around a mutated and demonic Naruto as they sucked the air out of each others lungs. His jealousy was non-existent compared to the great and terrible fear that drowned his heart.

"Tsunade get away from him!" He ordered as he rushed towards the pair.

Naruto, or whatever had control of him, had perked up when he felt the presence enter the room, but he was far to busy with his meal to pay it any sort of attention. _**It can wait**_. He thought as he caressed Tsunade's incredible chest. It wasn't until said presence spoke, demanding his prey leave him cold in a familiar voice did he react.

The change in her soon-to-be lover hit the blonde like a ton of bricks. The once warm, inviting, tantalizing aura of his evaporated as soon as Jiraiya spoke. At first she was afraid he thought she was going to listen to the old pervert. But then the aura turned dark and menacing, boiling over with hatred and excited anger.

" _ **YOU!**_ " Naruto growled and she was tossed aside, forgotten for the fulfillment of another desire, one of blood and carnage. Her head bashed against the bloody steel of the bed frame and she was devoured by the darkness, but not before she saw her dark prince and old friend meet in a head on collision of ink and steel.

***][***

When she next awoke Tsunade found herself pressed tightly against Naruto's body, something she would find quite enjoyable if it wasn't for the bladed fist currently clasped tightly around her throat.

"Let her go Naruto, you know how he is you cant let him control you!" Jiraiya's chest rent open by four gouges from his shoulder to his waist, even groggy and at a distance Tsunade could tell they weren't serious. She could feel the heaving of Naruto's chest and could tell that he was exhausted and most likely wounded. She gently brushed his thigh, trying to ascertain the degree of his injuries but her actions did not go unnoticed.

" **Darling! I'm so glad your okay.** " Naruto said as he whirled her around to face him before hugging her to his chest." **You have to help me!** "

"H-help you?" Tsunade questioned, looking up into his face with confusion. In the back of her mind she felt something move her in such away that she found her self agreeing with her dark prince. She was turned slightly back, just enough to see Naruto pointing at Jiraiya wildly. Careful to keep his human hand on her shoulder.

" **Yes, Jiraiya came in and attacked me! He was trying to take you away so he could play out his filthy fantasies!** " He accused, and Tsunade felt her insides squirm unpleasantly at the thought of all the fantasies a pervert like Jiraiya could have. He had lusted after her for years, always ogling her body and making her feel like a slab of meat. Naruto was different, He wanted to protect her from men like that. He had given her back all the time she wasted so they could be together. She moved to bury her face into Naruto's shadow covered chest but was stopped mid motion by Jiraiya.

"Tsunade don't listen to him, that thing isn't Naruto!" He pleaded, stepping forward with his hands held out in a placating gesture. Yet still Naruto stepped back, making sure to bring Tsunade with him keeping distance between them.

"What?...Isn't Naruto?" Tsunade groggily and with confusion looked back and forth between the older man and her prince, who tightened his grip on her waist. The action sent a wave of reassurance through the blonde. Of course Its Naruto! who else has such lovely golden eyes and luxurious red hair. Sure he was a little different, but it was still Naruto on the inside. She smiled at him lovingly as she reached up a hand to cares his scarred cheek.

"That is a demon that has taken over his body!" Jiraiya shouted, stepping forward once again. This caused his old, well not anymore, teammate to stop midway and turn back to him. Her arm falling slightly down but remained halfway between the distance to her princes cheek.

"A demon? Like the Kyuubi?" She questioned in stereotypical blonde fashion, her head cocked slightly and her lovely voice raising a few octaves, a certain note of clarity did pierced her mind however. As she herself knew that the kyuubi was a chakra construct and nothing more, and she knew that Jiraiya was also privy to this information so if he said Naruto was an _actual_ demon then he should-

" **Don't listen to him!** " Shouted Naruto, interrupting her thoughts as she felt that little tugging at the back of her mind once more moving her to side with her prince as he twirled her around to look her dead in the eye. The dark armor on his body began to recede showcasing the many scars and brutalities his body was canvas to.

" **My love, he's just like the others! He hates me, when we left all those years ago he starved me, beat me, left me to die! Ever scar I bear he put there-"** He began, motioning to all the assorted marks carved into his body as Tsunade felt an unholy rage building, but Naruto was interrupted.

"LIES!" Jiraiya shouted, a few tears springing to his eyes as Naruto spoke. It was odd, Tsunade thought, Why would Jiraiya be this upset if Naruto was telling the truth? It was almost like he couldn't believe his godson could, even while possessed as he so claimed, could say something like that.

" **He locked me in a cave, and when his little schemes never bore fruit he raped me. Used me like a toy for when he could find an easy target for his perversions. And when he grew bored he took my eye and sealed the entrance and left me for dead!** " Again Tsunade felt that moment of clarity and once more was that little tugging in her mind. Telling her that Naruto was right, he was always right. Tsunade felt her rage build with every word our of Naruto's mouth, Until she whirled on Jiraiya, chakra leaking out of every pore.

"HE DID WHAT!" She roared as she whirled on her former friend, stalker, tormenter. How _**DARE**_ he do such things to her beloved. She would make him _**PAY**_! Even if it was the last thing she did she would bring down the wrath-

She stopped dead when she turned to see the tear stained face of her former teammate, her friend, her admirer. His visage was wracked with so much pain and sorrow that she knew, without a shadow of a doubt in her mind that he was telling the truth. She felt that tugging in the back of her mind once more, but now it held no effect when she saw her oldest friend, a man she had never known to cry, In tears.

"Tsunade please, you know me. I could never hurt that boy! His father was a son to me and so was he, but that thing, Moryo, is a demon. Not like the kyuubi, but a true blue, sole devouring, heart crunching Demon that has taken over _our_ godson and is seeking to-" His tearful admission, choked with sobs and tears was halted by a roar from behind her.

" **LIES! Beloved please, don't deliver me into his clutches. I love you, so help me** **vanquish this charlatan and we can be together for ever! You'll never be alone again, never pining for what could have been but here, with me."** Naruto swung her around, his eyes wild and desperate, and Tsunade felt the tugging turn into a fierce yank, like a cord attached to a train. And the fog began to descend.

"Naruto...I-" She began, but something caught her eye. Something unimportant when considering anyone else. But when it came to Naruto it was a dead giveaway that something was off.

"Where's your necklace?" She asked, more like demanded, Naruto. Who's features scrunched in confusion.

" **Necklace? What necklace?** " He asked, looking down at her with his brow quirked. She couldn't see it but Jiraiya had begun to grin.

"The one I gave you, the one you swore to never take off. Where is it?" Tsunade prodded, glaring at the creature in Naruto's skin. The Naruto she knew and loved would never break a promise, even if it cost him his life. The creature tried to take her into its arms once more, but Tsunade shook him off. Her strength ever more astronomical than before. Eventually the creature's shoulders slumped as it gave of a defeated sigh.

" **Such a shame.** " It sighed, looking at the floor. " **I really did like you...oh well.** " Jiraiya's eyes widened in alarm as the creatures eyes shot up from the floor with a wicked smile." **Better luck next time.** "

"Tsunade, move!" Jiraiya shouted, moving as fast as he could when the Demon thrust his long, bladed fingers into her belly...but it was too late.

***]Chapter 8 end[***

 **Was originally going to call this chapter...Wait for it...**

 **Cerulean spheres and Malicious authors!**

…

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… **No? not funny?…Alright I'll keep my day job…**

 **Bye...**


	9. Beauty and the Beast

***]Beauty and the Beast[***

Time slowed as Jiraiya's voice echoes in the vaults of Tsunade's mind, She heard and comprehended what was happening but her body was sluggish and heavy. Refusing to move even an inch as she stared into the malicious smirk if the _thing_ that had possessed Naruto. In an effort to escape the devilish grin she shut her eyes tightly to craft a seal against the evil behind that smile. As she prepared to face the darkness the vaults and corridors of her mind opened wide and she relived her mistakes. From the smallest wager to the loss of Dan she relived it all. She remembered gifting her accursed pendent to her brother just as she remembered her grandfather bequeathing it unto her. She remembered his death as well as gifting it to her beloved Dan only for fate to make her watch her lover bleed to death in her arms. Both had dreams, large and majestic dreams of forging a safe and peaceful future as Hokage, only for her to bury both beneath the tear soaked ground. She remembered wallowing in her misery, drinking herself to death as she gambled away every last penny of her sizable inheritance. All the while Naruto, her little godson starved in the streets of the village her parents, her lover, her brother died to protect. That was a sin she placed high on her head, a piece de resistance if you will.

She regretted every moment she spent while he suffered. It was part of the reason she gifted him her pendent, that accursed crystal. She had hoped that his indomitable will and insatiable drive mite just stave off the curse, but she was wrong. His will to live, to be loved, to find his purpose was enough to buy him time, but in the end it didn't even matter. She had broken her promise to herself that she would bring that damn crystal to the grave with her, and her punishment was dragging, not only herself, but the self same person who had brought meaning back to her life, to hell.

Like the crimson dawn he had shone on her darkness and brought her back to the light, to life. And in return she had doomed him to terror and torment. She didn't know if he was even alive in his broken shell of a body, and she hoped he wasn't. For the Naruto she knew would be horrified by what his morbid puppeteer was doing with his body. He would be raging at the walls of his prison in order to save her, but perhaps she didn't want to be save. Maybe this was her retribution, her penance. To die at the hands of the one she wronged.

And so the last Senju faced the darkness with a smile. The same darkness that had taken her family, her parents, her brother, her lover. She felt the cold caress of the sharp tip of the claw dig firmly into her belly…

…"NooooOOOOOO!"

***][***

He sat at grand instrument, his fingers dancing over the black and white keys to craft such glorious music. He was smiling, a broad grin on his face. He could see himself in the mirror like surface of the instrument. The Instrument, a piano, he recalled, was large, glossy, and of beautiful craftsmanship. It stood off the ground just high enough to allow his legs beneath as he sat on the bench. He himself was clothed in naught but a robe, open at the chest, and he could feel his hair brush his shoulders. In the mirror like surface he could see both his eyes staring back at him. He and his reflection stared at one another until a slender hand interrupted the contest. The skin was smooth and flawless, pale as porcelain and the visage it led to was perfect and marvelous. She lounged across the surface of the piano, her long fingers running gently over his arms and into his hair. She had impossibly long hair, it flowed across her naked skin and onto the black surface of the piano where it blended into its surface to fall over he edge in a waterfall of shadow. Her sanguinary eyes gazed upon him lovingly as a pearly smile beamed up at him. Her teeth were sharp, a fact that his skin could attest to as she playfully nipped at his fingers when he stopped to reach up to her, a silent plea for his continuance. Her fingers dance across his flesh, weaving shapes like hearts and birds over his skin. Naruto looked into her blood red eyes and felt a burning passion eclipse his heart. He loved this woman more than anything, more than Sakura, more than the village, more than life itself. Her touch set his skin ablaze and his heart yearned for more. But as he moved to place his lips against hers a sudden, horrible, pain set his back afire.

He screamed and fell from the bench, his knees hitting the floor and the pain dug into him again. A sharp crack splitting the air.

"Again!" Screamed a woman, her voice twisted with annoyance and impatience. Naruto struggled back to the bench and began to play anew despite the pain, both from his back an from his hands. Looking down he could see that the once white porcelain of the keys was stained red with his blood, the ever constant pounding of the keys had rent the flesh of his fingers open causing them to bleed onto the keys. One look at his reflection showed that his hair, the same length as before, was now frazzled and caked with muck and grime, his cheeks where hollow, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks and his eyes where bloodshot and ringed in black and off to the side, whip in hand, stood the woman, her beautiful face twisted into an ugly snarl as he suddenly hit the wrong note.

"Idiot!" _CRACK_! the searing agony washed over him again as he twisted in his seat, a scream pulling its way from his throat." That's the fifty seventh time in a row! Get it right or you will not eat!"

"I'm sorry!" Naruto sobbed, he couldn't believe the sudden change from a moment ago. They were a couple in love but now...

"I know your sorry, that's what we're trying to fix! Now AGAIN!" _CRACK!_

And then it changed again. This time he wasn't at the piano, he was swathed in golden sheets and rich silks. He was being held tightly against someone's breast. That someone was whimpering softly as she clung to him desperately, and Naruto could feel an empty wetness on the right side of his face as well as a thick barrier between him and the sheets. From the corner of his eye he saw a gauzy alabaster horizon peeking over the bridge of his nose.

"I'm so, so, sorry baby." A woman sobbed, rocking them both back and forth in her bed."So-so sorry." She muttered over and over again as she rained kisses upon his head. Naruto couldn't move, his body felt heavy and sluggish, numb, yet he felt clean like he had been thoroughly scrubbed, where as before he was caked in blood and dirt. Even though the dirt was gone he felt something wet, cold, and sticky covering his body, gluing him to the woman and soaking the golden sheets. He lay on his right side and looking up through the valley of her breast he could see that it was the same woman as before. Her eyes were squeezed shut yet hot tears still found their way out to drip onto the plushness of the pillows and down her neck unto his face, this time her beautiful visage was marred by sorrow. Naruto's muddled mind idly noted how beautiful she was even like this.

"Izzy's sorry, and she'll never hurt you again so please... _please!_ baby, wake up. Izzy loves you, your her whole world and she cant live without you. So please wake up!" She begged, by the way she spoke Naruto could only imagine that she was Izzy. Izzy clutched him tighter and Naruto felt himself slip back under the waves of sleep.

***][***

Naruto whirled away from her, smashing his monstrous claw into a cluttered desk, flinging vases full of flowers to the floor only to shatter into millions of pieces in a mound of wet petals and glass. Naruto beat on this arm mercilessly, pounding away at it even as its spines and pins dug into his fist.

"NO! NO! NO! NO!" He commanded the Demon inside, slamming the arms into various walls and machines, explosions of sparks bathing the trio in their fiery bodies. Tsunade stood frozen as Jiraiya moved to restrain his frightened pupil. A swift smack sent him tumbling back into a wall.

" **You** _ **will**_ **obey!** " Screamed the demon, using Naruto's own mouth as medium as Naruto doubled over in pain.

"I-I w-wont **d** o i **t**!" Naruto replied, his voice momentarily morphing into that of the demon's. Naruto stood and hurled his right half into a wall, forcing a scream from the demon. In response the blackness moved and a loud _CRACK_ resounded through the room. Naruto screamed and clutched at his ribs, which now poked out of his flesh at macabre angles. Dripping gore onto the white porcelain floor. Without pause Naruto stumbled to the twisted frame of what was once the bed and brought the black appendage down hard on the blood caked steel, but the resulting scream was brought forth in his own trembling tenor instead of the tyrants baritone, which cackled with glee as the blackness twisted and flowed down his torso. With a sudden scream, and a spray of blood, Naruto fell to the floor. Weeping and trembling.

" **You should learn to listen BOY!** " The demon admonished as a few more screams wrenched themselves from Naruto as he clutched at his stomach.

The next thing Tsunade knew she was being dragged out the room and rushed out the door while Jiraiya slapped a seal against the doorframe. He was bleeding from a nasty gash on his head and his headband had fallen loose.

"What are you doing?! Let me go we have to help him!" She screamed as her teammate dragged her from the room. Jiraiya pushed her into the wall and held her their with surprising strength.

"We cant help him!" The sage roared."The demons already inside him and the only one who can stop him is Naruto!" The man released her.

"Moryo is a parasite. It has no consciousness of its own but manifest as the host darkest desires and thoughts, using them to create misery from which it feeds and grows stronger." He explained.

"Cant you just seal it like the Kyuubi?" Tsunade reasoned but Jiraiya just shook his head.

"If I could get close enough to touch him maybe, but in such small confines with all that thrashing I cant get close enough to him. If Naruto cant overwhelm the demons will then the only course of action is to-" He said as a sudden crashing sound drew their attention. They turned to look at the door to find Naruto hurling himself at the barrier.

"Kill me!Kill me!Kill me!Ki **ll them!Kill them!Kill them all!** " Naruto pounded his body against the barrier, begging with each impact for them to end his pain until he lost the battle for his mind...

***][***

Ino had just arrived for her shift when she entered to find the hospital in chaos. Orderlies and shinobi alike where flung across the lobby by the black beast as it doggedly pursued the bare chested Sannin Jiraiya. Deep gouges marked the beast's path as it attempted to eviscerate the white haired man. who was leaping around like the toads he summoned. The creature was massive. Over ten feet tall and half as wide it dwarfed the Sannin, who was a tall individual already. Bulging muscles as thick as her thighs covered the bulk of the beast as the horns of a bull curved upwards from its head to end in needle like points. It stood on gigantic humanoid legs, the tattered remains of an orange tracksuit stretched to cover its lower body, and its massive arms ended in large clawed hands. Its black skin was pulled taunt over its demonic skull with a hollow socket and a tortured lidless eye the color of amethysts glaring furiously at the world as it raged, its brilliant vermilion crown fluttering in the air as it threw its head back and forced a sound from its fanged mouth, a cross between a bestial roar and an inhuman cry as tears of blood flowing from its eye.

A group of Chunnin rushed the beast only to die as it stomped one into a bloody smear as it batted another to the side with a sickening crunch before it seized another with its huge fist and tore him in half.

" _ **Watch as they die for your foolishness Boy!**_ _"_ It said with dark laughter as blood pooled beneath its feet and splattered its chest.

A stone pillar rose from the ground to impale the beast, who twisted to the side with remarkable swiftness and snapped the stone spear in half before hurling it back towards its maker. Who stared in horror until he was knocked away by Sakura as she slapped the spear aside.

"What is that thing?!" She yelled, unknowingly parroting Ino's own thoughts. But she was ignored by the blonde as she focused on the beast. Their was something familiar about it and her trained mind tried to find out what exactly it was. It was missing an eye, and the one that was left was violet. It had crimson hair, a unique shade of red that to her knowledge only belonged to one...person...

Her breath froze as her pulse quickened. Her vision narrowed as her body grew cold. Her heart broke as a name tore its way through her mind and out her throat.

"Narut-" A hand clamped down on her mouth, silencing her.

"Shut up." A woman hissed into her ear."Do you want to kill him!" She warned, even as a doctor was speared by the beast horn. Ino stopped struggling and was released as she fell to her knees, she never took her eyes from the beast as it tore apart an entire squad of Anbu...literally. Their blood splattered across her face before her vision was filled by the stone carven face of the fifth Hokage.

"That _thing_ is _not_ Naruto. He is _inside_ it _._ Akatsuki sent it to _recapture_ him." Her fellow blonde stressed, making it clear that wasn't the case at all. Tsunade's words were repeated to Sakura from far across the room by Jiraiya as several fire jutsu was deployed by the gathered shinobi. Superheating the air and melting the steel furniture of the lobby. Ino couldn't see the after effect of the attack but if the dark laughter was anything to go by...it didn't work...not at all. Part of her was happy about that even if it meant the death of even more.

" **Come children, Follow me to HELL!** "

A flash of lightning, and an explosion later the mutilated corpse of a man slammed into the wall of to the left, which snapped Ino out of her delirium.

"We have to help him!" She said, causing Tsunade to look at her with pride.

"That's my girl." She said patting Ino's shoulder approvingly."Shizune!" She called to her apprentice, who appeared immediately, her clothing was ragged and bloodstained here and there.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." She bowed.

"Find Sakura and evacuate the remaining shinobi." She ordered.

"What about Lady Hinata?" Shizune questioned, bringing attention to the blue haired girl who, despite her injuries, bounced around the room firing lightening based techniques at the beast. Her expression was the antithesis of the kind and gentle girl she once was. Pure rage twisted her beauty as she exemplified her title of the _Fulgarian dancer_ with grace and ferocity. A snarl rose through her lips as she dashed up a wall, using her chakra to stick to it, before she kicked off the wall to spin, bringing her deceivingly delicate foot down as it crackled with lightning upon the behemoths face in an explosion of thunder.

"Let him go!" She commanded upon impact. It noteworthy to notice that, even though the beast tried, its attacks never touched her. weather or not from her skill the deadly claws always seemed to pass just inches from her skin as she pounded at the beast flesh its bulging amethysian eye, with its swollen veins and bloodshot sclera, fluttering widely.

" **Foolish child, even now you defy ME!** "

Tsunade looked upon the scene with an inquisitive eye, an idea forming in her mind, before turning back to her apprentice."Telling her now would be a waste of time. Knock her out if you must but I need everyone save Ino and Jiraiya out of here now!"

Hinata had, predictably, refused and so the shinobi left, a barrier forming behind them as Shizune carried the unconscious heiress away from her beloved. Tsunade turned back to Ino.

"I-no Naruto needs you."Tsunade corrected as she lifted the girl from the ground."The creature feeds of his misery, growing fat off of his self loathing and hatred. He feels alone, abandoned by the world, by his parents..." Tsunade looked Ino strait in the eye."...by you." She accused causing Ino to jerk.

"M-Me?! Why would-" She sputtered.

"He saved your life didn't he? Risked angering a powerful clan by killing a Nara? Carried you home as you cried like a child with only his shirt to protect your modesty only to nearly be attacked by your clan?"Tsunade paused, letting her words sink in."And how did you repay him? By avoiding the very sight of him!" Tsunade shook the child.

"B-but that was because-" Ino began, but was interrupted again as Tsunade's glare softened tremendously.

"You where afraid of your own feelings, I know. You didn't want to rush into a relationship like that, especially after what happened. I know, But _he_ doesn't. In his mind you just vanished, refusing to see him. He has Issues Ino, he's damaged, broken. There's no telling what all he's been through. So now's your chance to bring him back! Save him from himself. You saw how the demon couldn't touch Hinata, Naruto's still in there fighting! You just have to tip the scales, stall him long enough for Jiraiya to seal the demon away."

***][***

It was hell. That was the only way he could describe the horror he was subjected to as he watched the thing rip a man in half. He screamed but the demon, Moryo, roared in tandem. Laughing at the pain it put him through as it murdered innocents. Naruto had all but relinquished his mind when the beast set its sights on a certain blue haired girl.

 _Hinata! you bastard leave her alone!_ It took all his might to force the massive arm to swing just an inch to high as it plowed into the wall. The small girl rolling beneath to force several of his tenketsu points closed. The pain was unimaginable but Naruto continued to fight tooth and nail for his friend. It wasn't much: the tensing of the wrong muscles, a slightly slower downswing, a sudden jerk. but it made all the difference as the Hyuga princess wailed on his body.

Moryo slammed a fist into the ground in an attempt to crush the girl only to receive a face full of lightning. It didn't even care about the pain, it just rerouted it to Naruto instead.

 _Rhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! You filthy bastard! Get outta my head!_ Naruto demanded.

 _ **I am you, every dirty little secret or lustful desire.**_ Moryo taunted as is grabbed a fleeing shinobi and slammed the upper portion of his body against the floor in a sweeping motion, painting the floor like an artist to a canvas. It was then that Hinata dashed towards them and ran up his body to perform a lightning enhanced double back flip, planting both feet squarely into the jaw of the monstrosity using the momentum gained from the flip.

 _ **She would've made a fine toy. Don't you think, Begging like a dog to fulfill every twisted desire as we ravage her bleeding body? Of course you do! Your me!**_ The demon laughed as he attempted to squash the girl with his beefy fist.

 _I'm nothing like you!_ Naruto rejected any sort of similarity to this..thing!

 _ **Not true, We're both demons aren't we? Twisted little hearts forged by hatred and pain until our bodies follow suit. You should thank me boy, I'm here to free you from the loneliness that pervades our kind!**_

 _I'm not a demon! I'm a normal human being with friends!_

 _ **Really? Name one.**_ Said Moryo, causing Naruto to blurt out the first name that came to mind.

 _Hinata! She's trying to save me right now._

 _ **Please, the girl cant stand being near us she's just taking the opportunity to get rid of us.**_ As he spoke Hinata's voice filtered in.

"Just die already damn it!" She snarled as she drove a spinning kick into his face, the force of which drove their head into a stone pillar which snapped off a horn in the process.

 _ **See what I mean? She's been spouting off shit like that since she got here.**_

Naruto was speechless, wether from hearing the normally quiet and gently girl curse or the hatred in her voice he didn't know.

 _S-Shikamaru!_

 _ **Under orders.**_

 _Jiraiya._

 _ **Pity.**_

the pattern continued as Naruto listed names and Moryo shot them down. All the while Naruto's voice kept getting smaller and smaller until he said one last name.

 _Sakura..._ He could practically feel the smugness in Moryo's voice.

 _ **I believe she said.**_ _"Naruto's so annoying no wonder he's alone."_ Moryo mimicked Sakura's voice perfectly, referring to the time he transformed into Sasuke. This brought forth a wave of sorrow from his host on which he fed.

"Naruto!" Someone called, distracting the boy from his sorrow. Looking down he saw a blonde girl staring up at him.

 _ **Oooooh, I like her...**_

"Naruto please, I know your in there. I need to tell you something." She said.

 _...Ino...What's she...doing here?..._

 _Naruto had been succumbing to the darkness. Letting himself drown in the sorrow that Moryo dredged up from the abyss of his soul._

 _ **Too bad she's gotta die!**_ Moryo raised a wicked claw, ready to strike down the insolent little wretch of a girl who dared interrupt his feast...

"I love you!"

...But it was no to pass. His muscles froze, his body refused to move, to kill that insolent little worm!

It was a battle of wills as the two sides of Naruto fought for control. Muscles squirmed beneath blackened skin as the battle wages. One seeking the blondes destruction the other seeking answers. Moryo kept their jaw clamped shut as he glared hatefully at the blonde through the glowing orb in the hollow socket while Naruto's tortured eye searched her face.

Ino had tears streaking down her face as she stared up at the monstrosity Naruto had become...No it wasn't Naruto...It was the thing controlling him. Naruto wasn't strong enough on his own she had to help him the only way she could. By giving him a reason to fight.

"I know you can do It Naru-kun. Your strong, far stronger then we give you credit for. You saved me back then and I love you for it. I love your goofy little smile, and your devilish smirk. Your boisterous laughter and your nervous chuckle. I love you for who you are, not who you could be."

Moryo was losing the battle as the little harlot stoked the foolish boys fickle little heart. The massive bulk of his body collapsed to its knees, the claw it had raised to end the little whore was buried in the solid marble of the floor. Muscle's writhed beneath his burning skin as he was pushed back. His senses dulled as he sunk back into darkness. He could do nothing as he girl moved forward, past his arms and up to his face to cup its mangled flesh in her...soft...hands...

"Naruto..." Ino said as she held his massive head in her hands. It was little more than skin stretched over his skull. Bits and pieces of bone peeked out from tears in the skin to form a jagged crown. His skin was so hot to the touch but Ino ignored it to focus on the bulging amethysian eye that stared mournfully down at her. Begging for some type of proof that it wasn't just some cruel trick.

"I love you." She said, and just as she kissed his great fanged mouth Naruto felt something slap against his back. Energy flowed through him, flushing him free of Moryo's influence, which was sealed in the same cage that once held the Kyuubi. The blackened flesh fell away from him to land in steaming piles around the pair as Ino continued to kiss him, pressing all her emotion into the kiss until, at last, beauty freed the beast...

***]chapter 9 end[***

 **Just a little head's up, I recently started college so please be forgiving when it comes to updates. Writing helps me deal with stress so I most likely wont stop writing in general but I do tend to get bored with my stories when I feel people aren't interested enough so please REVIEW! I love hearing from you guys and that you love my stories. Tell me where I can improve, give me your theories on the story, and maybe suggest some good ones while your at it. I love to read and it helps improve my core writing skills and all.**

 **READ/REVIEW/SAY NO TO SLIMY THINGS IN JARS/AND REVIEW AGAIN!**

 **Thank you Third fang.- amazing author by the way.**


	10. Ashen Masquerade

***]Ashen Masquerade[***

Dashing towards his target Naruto leapt into the air and jumped off the nearest tree and used the momentum to launch a spin kick into his face but was blocked by his opponents raised arm. The older mans fist flew forward in counter, but only met air as thin wires sprouted forth from Naruto's body and buried themselves in the ground, wrenching his body towards the earth and away from the attack. Catching himself by his hands he spun to kick out the ninja's legs, but his opponent skipped out of range before he launched an axe kick that was dodged as Naruto pushed off the ground to land on his feat, the foot pulverized the ground where it landed. When the attacker landed on his feet he delivered a round house to the ribs of his opponent, who disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto quickly ducked beneath the swinging fist aiming for his head from behind throwing himself to the side and into a roll before he planted his left to use as an axis point in order to twist around to face adversary, a masked ninja with silver hair. With a Rasengan in both hands he rushed his opponent head who did so as well. With a smirk Naruto dispelled his leftern Rasengan, molding the energy instead into a chain and swung it like a whip towards his opponent, who was way to far in range to dodge in time, with a smirk. That grin was short lived, however as the older ninja formed a stone casing around his hand and caught the chain one handed.

"Shit." Was all He had time to say before the man yanked him forward and buried his outstretched fist into his gut to force the air out of his lungs. Kakashi tossed his student away, but was impressed to see him dispel a second later.

Kakashi suddenly sank into the ground when several clones of Naruto leapt from the tree's, a Rasengan in each pair of hands. The attack landed simultaneously, causing the spinning balls of energy to explode. Tearing apart the ground and uprooting any nearby trees unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast.

Kakashi appeared on a thick branch, close to the clearing but far enough away from the blast. His body was tense as his eyes darted left and right, he spared no sense as he searched for his opponent. _Where is he?_ He asked himself and was answered as a fist came flying from the left. Moving quickly the Jonin leaned back and let the punch sail past before whipping around and launching a kick straight into Naruto's ribs that sent him flying back into the forest. Giving chase Kakashi flashed through several handsigns so fast it was near instantaneous before a flaming tempest blazed forth from his lips in a constant stream of death after his fleeing adversary...

" **Fire release: Grand Inferno** "

Naruto's dashed through the trees, using his chains to pull himself along even faster then his legs could take him. He pushed himself faster and faster in order to escape the inferno and plowed headlong through the trees, his crimson mane thrashing behind him as he hopped from tree to tree planting kunai here and there. When he got a safe enough distance away from the blazing hell he produced several thick bladed kunai and, using the blade of one, nicked his finger before sinking them deep into the bark of the great trees he stood between, making sure his blood coated the ring of each of the dozen blades. Flashing through a set pattern of: Dragon, Boar, Ox, Rat, Tiger, Bird, Tiger, Dragon. Which caused the bloodied kunai to glow scarlet as several dozen golden chains erupted from the rings to crisscross to form a glowing barrier of gold between the branches of the trees.

" **Bulwark of the radiant dawn.** " He roared as the blaze slammed into the glowing barrier which stood strong in the face of the blaze which, due to a quick series of hand seals from Kakashi, morphed into a massive flaming warrior who raged against the barrier with his burning sword.

" **Fire release:Emissary of the Ashen King.** "

Naruto forced more chakra into the technique, which showed signs of breaking with its links snapping and fading away, and several new layers were added to the barrier. His efforts were rewarded, however, when the blazing warrior vanished yet his barrier stood strong. He had no time to celebrate, however, when he spun around to slam his forearm against the wrist of his mentor to keep his kunai from slitting his throat. With his attention diverted, the barrier dissolved as he and Kakashi disengaged only to clash together once again. Naruto ducked beneath a kick and attempted an uppercut, but Kakashi spun past it and plowed his elbow into his side before kicking Naruto away when he attempted to wrap a length of wire around his neck. Twisting to avoid the kick Naruto snatched a kunai from its holster and whipped it around to cut a deep gash into the side of the silver haired ninja. A swift Rasengan to the chest sent the Jonin flying. Flashing through various hand seals Naruto thrust his fist forward before twisting it upwards as if to grasp the sky, opening mid turn to form a ridged claw as a small length of chain formed and detached from his palm and begun to spin along its horizontal axis. Naruto poured chakra into the attack, forcing it to lengthen until it cleaved the surrounding foliage in half in a five meter circle. Naruto formed a Rasengan in his left hand and placed it into the center of the spinning chain, which had begun to sprout even more arms to resemble a spiral galaxy with the Rasengan in the center. Morphing the Rasengan's nature from neutral to wind caused it to begin to suck in surrounding debris. In a span of fifteen seconds the attack was at peak maturity and began to glow as gold as the sun before Naruto tossed the glowing spiral towards his former teacher.

" **Spiraling tempest**!" The attack plowed through the forest, ripping apart anything in its wake. The vortex in the center strong enough to pull anything towards the spinning saw to be torn apart by its glowing blades. Naruto was sure he got him, nothing could escape that attack from that range, so he was surprised when he felt the cold steel pressing against his neck.

"Nice try." Came the voice of his enemy as he held the kunai tight against the neck of his former pupil. Who sighed as his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Clone." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Clone."Kakashi confirmed from behind Naruto, who closed his eyes.

"Why did it have to be you?" He inquired his teacher turned enemy.

"Because, as your teacher, it's my responsibility." Kakashi said as he prepared to end it, he wasn't able to see the grin that sprouted on Naruto's face. A sudden tap on his shoulder drew Kakashi's attention, and as he turned he was met with the same shit eating grin that mirrored Naruto's before he was blinded by the clone as it spat in his eyes as it freed its master. The original, now free from the cold blade, twisted around to deck Kakashi right on the jaw and sent him flying into the path of another clone that changed Kakashi's trajectory with a round house that sent his strait into the previous clones uppercut that sent him strait into a tree several feet away.

The clones dispelled as Kakashi pulled himself up from where he slid along the tree's side. He had murder in his eyes, his Sharingan spinning wildly, as he wiped the mucous from his face. It was a little known fact that Kakashi was somewhat of a germophobe. As such his brow was twitching dangerously as he glared dead at Naruto, who kept up his annoying grin. The sound of chirping birds filled the air as lightning crackled around Kakashi's dominant hand and Naruto formed a Rasengan in both hands. Earth exploded as the two rushed at each other until both were seized by the collar and slammed into the ground.

"That's enough!" Spoke one Tsunade Senju, back under the effects of her illusion technique. Making her appear as she had before the effects of Moryo's spell. She lifted Naruto from the ground using the hold she had on his collar."You..." She said pointedly."Pass, congratulations Chunin Uzumaki." Naruto dazedly mumbled something but Tsunade just dropped him to the ground as she turned her attention to the Jonin in her other hand."And _YOU_. I expected one of your stature not to act like a child."

"But its nasty!" Kakashi interrupted, proving her point. Tsunade smashed him into the ground again as punishment.

"Regardless, you could have killed him with that last attack had I not intervened. You know how he is an you _will_ act like a responsible adult next time." She then dropped him after she healed his side before she turned to Naruto and healed his more numerous injuries. While non where truly serious in nature they were all worth her time. He had saved her life after all.

Jiraiya appeared and stooped over the unconscious Jonin and formed the ram seal before placing his hand on Kakashi's chest."Kai!" A brief flash of light occurred as a complex sealing matrix appeared before it shattered into many fragments of light. Kakashi instantly stood to his feet, thanked Jiraiya, and pulled out his little orange book and, ignoring the glare from Tsunade, walked away with a lazy goodbye after congratulating Naruto for his new rank. Jiraiya watched him leave and, when he was out of sight, looked towards Tsunade.

"Even with 75% of his abilities sealed he was able to push Naruto to his limits." He said offhandedly as he watched his teammate heal his godson.

"He was an ANBU after all." She said as she stood, her work complete. Naruto flipped to his feet and brushed himself off. His new benefactor had taken it upon themselves to outfit him like a proper ninja. He wore a sleeveless kevlar vest over a gray undershirt. The vest was covered in dozens of pouches that housed so many Kunai it looked like he wore a chainmail and he wore dark colored cargo pants with a utility belt at his hips that had several pouches and pockets that would serve him well during his career. His had tucked his pants into a pair of steel toed boots and had an additional pair of pouches strapped to his thigh. His forearms where wrapped in gray bandages with fingerless leather gloves ending at his wrists the bandages of his right arm went all the way to his shoulder but beneath the bandages the arm was rather normal in appearance, if you consider completely black skin and bones of literal steel normal.

"No kidding, Id hate to fight him seriously when even then he almost handed me my tail on a silver tray." Naruto said as he tied back his hair, which had come undone in the exam, revealing the eyepatch engraved with the Kanji for sight. It was a bit of a pain to get used to but it gave him back his eyesight so he tolerated the side effects, even if the migraines where a pain to deal with. It had been two weeks since what has been dubbed the "Shodai incident" that left him with all four of his limbs, at the cost of the lives of several civilians and shinobi alike. He, nor the Sannin, knew why Moryo gifted the new arm to him. Was it because Naruto had impressed the demon somehow? Or was it something more sinister? Regardless Naruto hadn't seen nor heard from the demon since then and he was confident in both the skills of the fourth and his Sensei.

"Hey kid!" Called the toad sage, pulling Naruto out of his thoughts for the moment."What's with all those names! Radiant dawn and Spiraling tempest? Your usually pretty crappy when it comes to naming things so how'd you come up with those?" He said, referring to all technique's he had used during the fight with Kakashi.

"I didn't." Naruto shrugged."Tsunade came up with them so don't ask me where they came from." He motioned towards the blonde with a thumb.

"Aren't you forgetting something Naruto?" The blonde growled, a slight flush to her cheeks. Naruto looked at her blankly for a moment before gasping in horror.

"Crap!" The red head took off like a rocket through the trees towards town...

***][***

Ino was in trouble...She couldn't figure out what to wear for her date. She stood in front of her mirror in her underwear with a distraught look on her face as she shifted back and forth between one dress after another.

"I don't know...maybe the red one...the blue one's less flashy but...ugh!" Throwing her arms in the air she fell backwards onto her bed right into a pile of clothes. She was doomed. Utterly and completely screwed...and not in a good way. She couldn't find a single thing that she was comfortable with. This one showed to much skin, that one showed to little, that was her bikini. She didn't know what type of girl Naruto wanted...

"I don't think he's that kinda guy." Her mother said from the doorway, literally reading her daughters mind. Ino sent a withering glare towards her mother, usually Yamanaka frown upon unrestrained use of their abilities but Inomi was and exception.

"Sorry." Inomi shrugged apologetically as she sat down next to her daughter."Looks like you're in a pickle."

"Jarred actually. Why is it so hard to just find an outfit?! I used to just grab whatever an look fabulous, but now..." She pouted before placing her arm over her eyes."I just want to impress him."

"Then just be yourself." Inomi gently removed her daughters arm from her face before brushing Ino's hair aside, revealing her pretty blue eyes."That's how I got your father." Inomi smiled.

"Uh huh, and how long did that take you?" Inomi's smile didn't falter, yet it did tighten somewhat at her child's referral to her past.

"I never said I was smart." Inomi slapped Ino's bare stomach lightly and, with a bounce, was off the bed and heading for the closet."Regardless, when Naruto takes one look at you after I'm done _he'll_ be pregnant!"

"Mom!"

***][***

Naruto looked down at the sleeping face of Koyuki Kazehana, his idol and friend. The majority of her wounds where healed by now but the medics had kept her under just in case. With an arm broken in three places with a fractured pelvis along with several broken ribs, she had taken one hell of a beating and Naruto couldn't feel anymore guilty. If it wasn't for him she would still be in Spring country, known as Snow this time of year, happy and healthy while she led her country into a golden age, but instead she was here in Konoha, far away from her home and lying in a hospital bed. Koyuki had endured great pain for him and how did he repay her? By going on a rampage that killed twenty-nine people and injured even more. If it wasn't for him they would still be here, alive and with their loving families. Instead they were in the ground, all for some worthless orphan who was better off de-

"Hey what are you doing here?!" Sakura unknowingly interrupted his thoughts as she walked through the doorway wearing loose pink scrubs and a lab coat. She had pinned up her hair to keep it out of the way and she had little to no make up but still, when she walked in with a smile on her face and looked at him with those impossibly green eyes...his heart skipped a beat. He shook it off however as he was committed to moving on with his life and had to accept the fact that, to her, he would never be good enough...no matter how much it hurt.

"Hey, I was just coming to see how she was doing." He said, turning to look down at the sleeping celebrity with a small, guilty smile. Sakura saw this little smile and moved to comfort her friend by stepping forward a step and placing a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Naruto...Its not your fault." She searched the depths of his glistening amethyst."You didn't do this to her."

Naruto shrugged her hand off and looked away."Doesn't change the fact she's here because of me. She was attacked on her way to bring me this." He said lifting his newly attached appendage that was, officially, a gift from the most technologically advanced nation on the planet."Her men died for no reason."

"No they died defending their Daimyo from an S-ranked anarchist and they died proudly." Sakura stated firmly.

"Then what about them!" He gestured towards the direction of Shodai memorial, barely visible through he seal-reinforced windows of Konoha General."Why did they die!"

"To protect you!" Sakura replied, her voice raising in response to Naruto's.

"Yeah right!" Naruto snarled." Why should they care? They didn't care when I was dying from starvation in the rain! They didn't care to stop me from being beaten to half to death! They didn't even piss on me when I was lit on fire for Christ sake!" While this did give the girl some pause, she was trained to push such things aside for the objective.

"Then why should you?" She challenged her voice dropping a few decibels.

"Because I killed them! Because Jiji raised me better!" Naruto was visibly shaking, weather from sadness or rage was anyone's guess but soon after he stormed out of the room, leaving Sakura alone with the sleeping queen.

***][***

When Inoichi opened the door to reveal Naruto, he was in a good mood. He enjoyed the smile on his wife's face as she prepared their daughter for her date, but he had put his foot down on a few of her choices. His daughter didn't need to show off any more leg, thank you very much.

He was prepared for a lot of things, a nervous Naruto, a flustered Ino, and even had his "Back-by-nine" speech ready and waiting, But what he was not prepared for was the words that slipped from his beloved's mouth when she laid eyes on Naruto.

"I'm pregnant." And with that Inoichi fainted.

Inomi was astounded by how well Naruto had cleaned up as she lifted her husband off the floor and onto a nearby chair.

Naruto was dressed in a white double breasted blazer with golden borders and buttons and underneath he wore a black button up which he had left the top few buttons undone, which showed a glimpse of his chest, and had abstained from tucking in the bottom so the edges peeked out from beneath the edge of the jacket. His relaxed cut pants matched his jacket while his shoes matched his shirt. His signature crimson hair was tucked into a wide brimmed panama, fashionably cocked to the side, with a black ribbon. He stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, the three strapped eyepatch over his right eye gave him a roughish air as he smiled at the mother.

"Where's Ino?" He leaned in a fraction to look up the stairs." I can come back later if you need more time." Inomi smiled at the boys consideration, He seemed to know how this sorta thing worked...though she was curious how he gained such experience.

"My my Naruto, If I didn't know better I would say you've done this before." She teased the teen, who shook his head and leaned his shoulder against the doorframe.

"Nah, Sakura used to take hours getting ready when we first started out." He said with a sad smile, most likely dwelling on his failed attempts at romance. Inomi opened her mouth to distract the boy from his thoughts but just then Ino came down the stairs and everyone froze and Inomi was quite pleased with the look on Naruto's face.

She was...beautiful. Her cascading blonde hair was in princess curls and her lithe body was squeezed into a classy black cocktail dress with a v-neck line that showed off her cleavage down to her ribs. Her long legs were smooth and tanned with ten inch heels, which boosted her up to just under Naruto's chin.

Ino made her way gracefully, or carefully depending on your standpoint, and walked the ten feet from the landing to the door before reaching over and setting the male's jaw back in the proper upright position.

"S-stop s-staring Idiot." There was no bite in her words however, Naruto's reaction and his own appearance causing her to blush.

"Sorry." Naruto nervously rubbed the back of his neck, showing that he was wearing a pair of black leather gloves."It's just that...you look pretty good."He chuckled with a handsome smile.

"You don't look so bad yourself buster." Ino lightly punched his arm, a smile of her own gracing her lips. The sudden sound of a camera distracted the pair as they turned to find Inomi holding a camera with a closed eyed grin.

"You two look soooo cute!" She quickly snapped a few more of the embarrassed duo before she bid them good bye and shut the door behind them as they left. Ino looked down the path from the noble quarter and saw a carriage waiting for them. She looked at Naruto with a quirked eyebrow.

"What, you think I'd just let you walk to the restaurant." He said before he helped her inside.

"I never knew you to be such a gentleman." Ino added as she settled into the cab. The plush seats where made of velvet the color of violets.

"I try." He shrugged as he climbed in to take his seat directly across from her and crossed his legs, the foot of one on the knee of the other before banging on the side panel of the cab, signaling to the driver to drive. As they drove through the streets the two conversed on various topics from training to music, when Ino said that she enjoyed classical piano Naruto gained a little grin that he refused to elaborate on. About mid-way through the ride a thought occurred to the blonde.

"Hey Naruto, I don't think you ever told me what your birthday was." She said, hoping it was later on so they could calibrate together. But Naruto looked out the window at the passing faces and store fronts as they traveled to their destination, his smile disappearing.

"It's not important." He deflected.

"How could your birthday not be important? I mean come on its right there in the title, birthday, the day of your birth!" Ino pressed.

"October 10." Naruto muttered, not taking his eyes from the window."I was born on the day of the Kyuubi attack, I'm an orphan, and the village majority hates me so I never saw got to celebrate...to busy running for my life." He said off handedly which killed the mood. Ino was a disappointed about the birthday and was saddened for a while until Naruto suddenly grinned again.

"We're here!"

***]A short while later[***

The two were enjoying a wonderful dinner in the Gold Leaf, a five star luxury restaurant, when a waiter suddenly walked up and whispered in Naruto's ear. With a smile Naruto thanked the man and stood, holding his hand to the confused Ino, who took it as he led her to a stage in the center of the restaurant. On the stage stood a grand piano, the type used by top contenders. Ino had no idea why Naruto was doing this and feared that he expected her, being a noble, knew how to perform. Sure she had a few lessons as a child but she was more of a cello kinda girl. To her great relief, and astonishment, it was Naruto who sat a the ivory keys after he had hoisted her atop the thing. A few where watching the pair, curious to see what was happening. Some recognized the pair and expected the foolish boy to fail spectacularly.

Naruto paid them no mind as he smiled up at Ino and, with a wink, began to play. It was slow at first but soon more and more people began to watch as he played a song that invoked an air of mystery and shadows. Ino could've sworn a light fog began to roll in as the lights dimmed, leaving only the piano for all eyes to see the maestro at work. Soon people stood from the shadows around the instrument, men and women dressed in finery greeted in silence, for music reigned in this shadow world as the people began to dance. They floated across the umbral footing as if by levitation in a slow waltz. As the song reached its crescendo they all vanished in a explosion of ashes and the darkness lifted to reveal the astonished faces of the crowd, a slow clap soon turned into a standing ovation but Naruto paid it no mind they were just white noise to him as he gazed at the astonishment on Ino's face.

"Oh my god your amazing, I had no idea you could play! What was that?!" A grin appeared on the one eyed boys face at her praise.

"Its a song I call "Ashen Masquerade"." He responded.

"Well that Genjutsu was a nice touch." Ino praised with a nod but Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What Genjutsu?" Ino adopted a face that said."Your kidding right." and was going to chastise the boy but a the crowd demanded an encore and the subject was soon forgotten.

***]chapter 10 end[***

 **READ/REVIEW/Don't fire loogies at Kakashi!/AND REVIEW AGAIN**


	11. Diamonds

***]Dirty Diamonds[***

Naruto stepped out into the clearing known as training ground seven to find Kakashi waiting for him along with Jiraiya and Shizune, who were all wearing their usual attire. Someone had set up several items ranging from barbells to boulders all along the training field including a table holding several rods of similar shape and size. Naruto walked up to them just as Kakashi closed his book with a thump and put it away, Jiraiya doing the same with his notepad while Shizune turned her glare away from the two to look at the newcomer, who was wearing a white t-shirt and black tracksuit pants with orange stripes down the legs with his right arm bandaged as usual.

"Hey guys!" Naruto waved as he walked up."Mind telling me what we're doing all the way out here?"

"We're going to experiment a little." Kakashi said as he slid his precious book out of reach of the irritated medic.

"I don't know if I like the sound of that." Naruto shied away from the trio, keeping his distance incase they tried anything painful.

"Its nothing like that." Shizune assured the teen with a smile as she moved towards him with a smile.

" All we're doing is running some test to see if your new arm has any side effects." She stopped directly beside his right and began unraveling the bandages around his arm until the tar colored limb was fully in view. Taking the limb in her delicate hands Shizune studied the surface of the arm while Naruto watched curiously.

"Hey Naruto." Jiraiya called, gaining the attention of his student.

"Wha-Ow!" As soon as Naruto turned to address the Sannin he felt as if he was being skinned alive. Jerking his eyes back to the medic he saw her placing a piece of dark skin into a vial.

"What was that for you little viper?!" He demanded only to be ignored by the petite woman, who suddenly scared the crap out of him with her blankness.

"Subjects responses to pain seem normal, despite having the top layer of skin removed it does not appear to bleed and the flesh beneath appears to be one solid mass instead of multiple layers of muscle and bone. The glinting of steel can be observed if placed directly into light." The medic listed off into a recorder placed directly next to her mouth as she placed the vial in a secure container." Subject appears to possess regenerative abilities." She noted as she observed the patch of flesh repair itself, leaving the arms surface smooth once again.

"Has the patient noticed anything strange or unique about the appendage?" Shizune looked questioningly towards Naruto.

"Define strange?" Naruto said, resisting the urge to state the obvious.

"The ability to manipulate or shape it to suit your desires?" She supplied.

"Umm Not that I know of." noting his answer Shizune produced a syringe and injected it into his arm.

"Please hold still." she ordered as she attempted to draw blood, only to get the black substance in liquid form. Sealing the vial away Shizune then did various test to gauge his blood pressure, heart rate, and reactions to various stimuli until she finally packed up and left after having him lift a ten pound dumbbell to see how the various muscle groups moved.

"He's all yours!" She called over her shoulder as she disappeared with a duffle bag full of various samples and data.

Naruto turned to the men to see them watching the young woman leave, eyes glued to her behind as it sashayed from side to side. Snapping them out of it he asked.

"So what else is there?"

Jiraiya jerked his thumb towards the table and motioned him to follow. Stopping just in front of the wide table Naruto could see the numbers 1-10 written on note cards and placed in front of the different rods. Upon closer examination Naruto could see a myriad of seals etched onto their surface.

"What am I supposed to do with these?" Naruto quirked a brow at his teacher who gestured at the table with his open hand.

"Lift them." Jiraiya said, but smacked his hand when Naruto, so used to having only one arm, went to reach with his left instead of his still uncovered right.

"Hey!" The redhead protested.

"C'mon brat use the right! The whole point is to test it." Jiraiya ordered and Naruto begrudgingly did so, lifting the rod labeled as 1 with minimum difficulty. It was thin and cold, he could feel the seals gritting his 'skin'.

"Piece of cake!" He crowed, twirling the rod around his fingers. Kakashi and he had been working on honing his fine motor skills over the couple of weeks since he woke and the progress was remarkable, he could barely tell the difference between it and his old arm when he wasn't looking dead at it, which is why he kept it hidden so everyone not in the know about the demon inside him assumed it was still the highly advanced prosthetic Koyuki brought with her.

"Now the other one. Number two." And so the process continued, each number had Naruto exerting more and more strength to lift them until he reached nine and could barely lift it even and inch from the table.

"Enough." Jiraiya finally relented as Naruto was on the verge of a hernia. The redhead released the rod with a sigh of relief and massaged his twitching biceps after wiping away the sweat from his brow.

"What was that?!" He exclaimed as his arm shivered.

"That was nine hundred pounds." Jiraiya noted with a smirk."Pretty impressive, Kakashi here only made it to six when he tried."

Naruto whirled around on his Genin instructor, who stood with his hands in his pockets.

"Hahaha!" Naruto teased, but he was cut short however as something whizzed past his cheek and went _through_ several trees until it finally stopped halfway through a stubborn old oak...three hundred feet away.

"Don't get so full of yourself." At the sound of Jiraiya's voice Naruto turned around mechanically to see that the rode labeled as 10 was gone and Jiraiya's hand was lazily bent backwards like he was holding a wine glass towards them, he didn't even have to extend his elbow!

"Not everyone has the advantage of having a demonic arm, now do they?"

Plucking a rod from the table he strode up to Naruto and shoved it into his human hand, as he let go Naruto immediately slammed into the ground and Jiraiya smirked down at him.

"See you cant even handle two hundred with your original arm so don't be giving Kakashi grief 'Kay?" The sage smiled.

"Okay...Sorry Kakashi Sensei." The silver haired man walked over and held out a hand.

"It's alright, no hard feelings. Come on we have a few more test to go and then we'll get some ramen, my treat." Kakashi gave his signature eye smile as Naruto took his hand and helped the boy up.

"Yes!" Naruto yelled in jubilation as he was led to a pair of boulders set to the side of the training yard. Jiraiya took out a seal brush with red paint staining the end, fueled by a special seal designed by the Sannin which connected the brush to a ten gallon drum of sealing solution placed in his home. The brush was one of several he had on his person with various colors. Funneling a small amount of his chakra into the instrument to activate the gateway to the drum, a safety feature so he didn't make any unnecessary stains, he studied the boulder for a second and then painted a large red X upon a certain spot.

"Care to guess what your gonna do?" the toad sage said as he stepped back. Having a good idea of what he was supposed to do Naruto stepped before the boulder knowing that there was no way he could get out of this he reared back his umbral fist and propelled it with all his strength and...nothing.

"Well then..." Naruto said as he relaxed his body and stepped back, a bit disappointed that he didn't break the rock even if it was thrice his height in both girth and height.

"Give it a minute." Chimed in the former ANBU who was leaning against the other boulder, and before Naruto could ask what the hell he was talking about a cracking noise snapped through the tranquil clearing. Turning to look at the boulder he just assaulted Naruto was just in time to see it burst gently in half and the two pieced fell to the ground in a cloud of dust.

"What the-!" Naruto looked down at his right arm in awe as he flexed it open and close.

"You see Naruto we had originally replaced your arm with a prosthetic designed specifically for shinobi. Due to its Titanium core its light and durable but in its base state it couldn't mold or channel chakra so Koyuki needed me to design a seal matrix so it could, but Moryo saved me the hassle while upgrading on the initial design because of this it feels and acts just like a normal arm which also deals with a separate issue of the ability to feel what your touching while reinforcing the material and tripling the damage out put. Conversely it removes several of the key features of the arm, such as the storage compartments and the kunai/wire launchers. All in all I'd say the pay off was worth it, minus the screeching demon in your head of course." Jiraiya shrugged."Speaking of which."

Jiraiya lifted Naruto's shirt to look at his seal, which was similar to his old one but was now on his right pectoral and it looked like the darkness of the demonic skin was used as the ink for the seal.

"You hear anything from your little friend?" Jiraiya said as he examined the seal, causing Naruto to scowl.

"He's not my friend. The bastard almost killed Tsunade and succeeded with many others, so why in the world would I call him a friend?" It was a rhetorical question, and they all knew it. So when Jiraiya straightened and let his students shirt fall back in place.

"Have you heard from him?" Jiraiya asked again, more to remind his student of the question than anything.

"No, not a peep since he was sealed." Admitted the teen, receiving a smirk from the Sannin.

"Well lets not temp fate." He clapped his student on the shoulder and grinned broader."Hows about we go take Kakashi up on his offer and clean 'em out!"

"Yosh!" Naruto pumped his fist and went to retrieve his bandages as Kakashi stood straight as a board.

"Now what just a damn minute!" He shouted after the pair, who cackled in response.

***][***

Ino dodged a rock splitting over head from her opponent an whipped out a kunai at them, who simply batted them out the air. Running into the trees Ino planted several explosive tags on her way, which activated a moment after in a plume of fire and smoke. Ino paused for a moment to admire her work but was soon sent on the move again when a burning tree was hurled through the smoke at mach two. In response Ino, using her masters signature technique, tore a different tree from the ground and swung it like a baseball bat just as a small figure dashed out of the smoke.

"Batter up!" The impromptu weapon slammed into its target and sent it hurtling to the side as Ino released the tree then dashed after he target. Blasting through the smoke, and several handsigns, she released a fire ball directly at her opponent, who rolled to the side. Ino's target rolled through multiple handsigns then stuck her hands into the ground to pull up a flack, squarish plate of earth and flung it like a discus. Ino's fist shattered the stone only to have a fist meet her toned belly and a hand wrap around her ankle. A moment later Ino felt herself fly through the air in an arch to be slammed into the ground, leaving a girl shaped crater. A second after a pink headed Kunoichi peeked over the edge to look down at her defeated opponent.

"Close but no cigar, you've gotten better piggy, but still not good enough to beat me!" Sakura gloated proudly, but stopped when Ino vanished in a poof of smoke and cold steel wire wrapped around her neck.

"You sure about that forehead?" Ino huffed into her friends ear as she tightened the garrote. Sakura looked over her shoulder carefully with a smirk.

"Tie?" She said, drawing attention to the kunai she pressed against Ino's belly, just over her womb. A viscous little trick taught to shinobi hopeful, even if it didn't kill a Kunoichi it would take away her ability to reproduce, a devastating loss for most women, ninja or not.

"Tie." Ino agreed as she loosened the cable around the pinkette's neck and stepped back to allow the other girl some breathing room. The two placed they respective weapons away and sat beneath a shaded tree to rest in a comfortable silence. It had been about a week since Her and Naruto's first date and this was the first time the two girls schedules actually lined up.

"I hear Naruto's been promoted to Chunin." Sakura said as she sent gentle pulses of chakra into her neck to heal the bruising.

"Yep, you should have seen him! Prancing around in his new vest like he was cock of the walk, I didn't have the heart to tell him we're all Jonin now." the blonde laughed as she remembered how Naruto strode down main street the next day making sure every one saw that he was a bonafied Chunin while Sakura frowned.

"It not like its his fault, five years is a long time." She muttered sadly as she moved on to her other aches and pains.

"I know, if he'd been here I'm sure he'd be Hokage already." Ino said with a small smile while she dealt with her own injuries.

"He's still going on about that?" Sakura asked, looking over at her companion.

"To be honest I haven't heard much about it. I think he just wants things to return to normal, what ever that is." Ino made a small joke, tossing a pebble that had somehow made it into her sandal.

"Sasuke's getting a pardon." Sakura dropped the bombshell, destroying the tranquility of the clearing.

"What!" Ino shouted as she whirled on her friend, who clutched at her knees while resting her chin on them.

"The elders pulled some strings and got some of the councilmen to enact an executive decision. They resign tomorrow." Sakura supplied and Ino froze. An Executive decision was a system put in place to protect the village against an Hokage should the need arise. To enact the system required a certain amount of council members depending on the subject. In the case of criminal pardons it required ten members to sign the contract and the Hokage was forced to grant the pardon, the draw back was that all ten of the signers had to step down and liquidate a sizable amount of their estate and grant it to the state. It was great in theory, it was part of the reason so many Hokage stayed honest and the drawbacks made it so they couldn't just outright do what ever they wanted, But it was a double edged sword. Case in point.

"Really! After everything He did! For gods sake he killed our own people, and he nearly killed Naruto!" Ino shouted to the sky.

"Who ripped out his eye and tried to castrate him!" Sakura leapt up in defense of her paramour and stared down Ino who fixed her with an evil eye.

"And exactly how do you know that?" Ino questioned.

"Sasuke told me."

"And how would he do that when he's been stuck in a jail cell this entire time?!" Sakura cowed beneath the venom in her friends eyes.

"W-well I-I-" Sakura's eyes refused to look at Ino, shifting from left to right in an effort to avoid her gaze.

"You've been seeing him haven't you?! For gods sake Sakura the bastard tried to kill you, kill Naruto and your to stupid to realize that all he wants is to use you!" Ino roared.

"Your just jealous! He loves me and I love him while your stuck with the dead last!" Sakura immediately clamped a hand over her mouth as soon as the words left her mouth. She didn't mean to say it with such disdain, she didn't even believe it. Naruto was a wonderful person, but she knew by the look in Ino's eye that it didn't matter.

"I'm _Stuck_ with Naruto." Ino's tone had taken a deadly edge."What's wrong with Naruto Sakura? Is it the scars? He may not have the Uchiha's perfect skin, but that's because he's had to fight tooth and nail for his life. I know it cant be the eye because Sasuke's got a matching set so why..."Ino trailed off for a moment before her heated glare returned a thousand fold. "Is it because he's poor?"

"What? No!" Sakura denied it but Ino just nodded like she had found the missing piece and it all made sense now.

"I didn't know you where so shallow billboard brow." Ino moved close to Sakura and stabbed a finger in her chest." Look here you little gold digger, Naruto may be the brokest son of a bitch we know but he's richer in ways that pathetic emo could never be. He's got a heart of gold and a soul of diamond, a smile made from pearls, eyes of the deepest amethyst, and hair spun from the first rays of the dawn." Ino's incessant jabbing finger forced the flabbergasted rosette to retreat until her back slammed into the shade tree."He may be dirt poor, but in that dirt there's a diamond. And that diamond shines with the light of the sun that is Naruto. He's been shit on his entire life but he's still the first to smile and the first to fight for others. Who was it that made sure you had what you needed in the academy and in our Genin days? Your own mother knows Naruto on a first name basis because of how many times he had to rush to your house to get something **YOU** forgot or ended up half a day late because he weeded her gardens. How many time's has he saved your life when Sasuke knowingly endangered it? How many times has Sasuke shot you down and called you names only for Naruto to come right around and lift you up only to get beaten for his trouble? Naruto may be the Demon of the Leaf but he's an angel in my eyes. He saved my life, my dignity, when he could barely stand. He walked through Konoha half naked, with all his shame on display just to maintain my honor!" Ino was in tears by this point as she screamed the last words."I love him with all my heart and I will not have you shaming him for things he cant control when it was you and this horrible village that did it to him! He owes you nothing yet he still brought back that bastard just to make you happy because he LOVES YOU!"

And with that the trembling Yamanaka vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving Sakura alone beneath the cherry trees.

***][***

 _ **Hey guys, and galls, I'm so sorry for how long this took. I just started college and I kinda lost my mojo for a bit there. Any way Read/Review/Be mesmerized by DA booty/ and Review again.**_


	12. Of Music and Shadow

***]Tears of a clown[***

Pain, a dull throbbing filled Naruto's mind as his eyes slowly made their way upwards. The doctors warned him of the phantom pain but they never said anything about his whole body feeling as if it was in a vice steadily applying pressure to him with walls full of spikes. With an effort Naruto pulled himself up with his lone hand, the effort causing his empty socket to throb painfully in protest.

 _"It's raining...figures."_ He noted, looking out his window to see the downpour just outside his little hovel. It had been three weeks since the Incident with Ino and Naruto wondered if it had all been an act, the two of them had been fine before Shikaru but now...

With a sigh Naruto hauled himself up to stand uncertainly on his pained feet and, answering the call of his empty stomach, headed to the fridge. Opening the outdated appliance he was disappointed to see it empty. He hadn't really been home all that much lately, the Hokage only allowed him to leave her care just yesterday to return to his own home for a day or two to choose what he would take with him when he moved in with her in her mansion. He appreciated the gesture, he really did, but it just didn't feel right to Naruto to be such a burden on her and Shizune.

Closing the door with a sigh Naruto resolved himself to a trip to the store to get groceries. Sure it was raining but he wasn't going to go crying to Tsunade because he was a little hungry, he'd rather starve before that happened.

It was a slow and painful process just for Naruto to dress in a hoodie and sweats, Naruto had always heard from veteran Shinobi that old wounds tend to react to the weather in such a way, and he now had a new respect on those men and women to be able to go through this. The throbbing stump that was once his arm ached with a pain he never knew was possible, he had been beaten, stabbed, and burned before but his wounds where usually gone by the time it became relevant but now the demon's hovel stood as vacant as his eye. He wanted to scream, to cry, to do anything to end the pain but he wouldn't, instead he swallowed it down deep into his gut and imprisoned it there, locking it away like he has always done while forcing a smile.

After his task was done Naruto grabbed the frame at the foot of the bed and pulled, sliding the old and rusty bed out of the way to reveal a bare floor. Naruto hit his knees and pride up a board from the floor to reveal a large metal lockbox with chipped green paint. The box was a foot long, deep, and half that wide with a padlock holding it closed. Lifting the box from the ground he opened it to reveal dozens of thickly rolled bills stuffed so tightly inside a few leapt out of the box as soon as the lip was pulled away.

Once upon a time Naruto had dreams of a family, of a wife and children that would smile at him as he walked into the door, a loving spouse to hold in his arms during the coldness of night, Her warmth chasing away the demons that haunted his childhood. Once upon a time he thought he would have this future with a certain rose haired doctor, but he had nothing. All he had was a foolish dream and hungry belly, but he had resolved to have that future with Sakura. So he worked doing the most mundane and dangerous jobs that no one else would do and rat holed every penny, ever dollar he made just to buy their future. Once he had became a shinobi he added every dime he had to the cause, hunger was normal for him so he could live without a meal or two if he could just see her smile the day they bought their house, but he was fooling himself. She never wanted him, she was just like all the others to whom he was the loser, the idiot, the freak...and now...No one would love him, he had no chance in hell to become Hokage with his dis-Condition. What respectable girl wanted to spend the rest of her life with a one eyed cripple.

Stuffing three of the bands into his pocket he re hid the iron box back beneath the floor and left the apartment.

***][***

Walking down the soggy streets Naruto couldn't help but look into the glowing windows as he passed by. Door after door he looked inside to see families enjoying a rainy day, seeing fathers and mothers playing with their children, brothers teasing their sisters, and husbands romancing their wives made the redhead sink further into his gloom as he trudged through the empty streets on his way to the market.

Empty wasn't correct, there were a few people outside. A few men going to and from work as wives waved goodbye or welcomed them home, a pair of young lovers were dancing in the warm rain of the land of fire. It was funny what you noticed when feeling lonely, what you found worthy of bitter envy as you trudged through the pitiful waterlogged hell that is your life.

Passing by the soaked couple as they drew together in a kiss, Naruto had to literally bite his tongue to force himself not to lash out at the two due to his own bitterness. One thing he hadn't lost was his sense of hearing, so he could hear their proclamations of love long after they had disappeared beneath the torrential downpour. A different muscle throbbed at each declaration, it was all he ever wanted, to be loved as a woman loves a man but it seemed to be his fate to forever walk down this lonely path he called his life.

Mud caked his sandals as he entered the market store owned by the Akimichi's that sold everything from food to Kunai on the cheap, and while his soaked appearance wasn't so unusual on days like this he startled more than a few customers as he walked in, Head down with his hood pulled up and his face hidden while his hands where in is pockets. Even though they lived in a ninja village robberies weren't unheard of. To ease their minds Naruto pulled his empty sleeve free and let it hang to the side as he moved through the aisles, putting Items in his buggy as he moved along. Once he had filled the buggy he moved to wait in line behind a rather portly gentleman with several buggy's full of various groceries since it was the only cashier open today and Naruto wasn't in a big hurry, why would he be? Its not like there was anybody waiting on him anyway. It took a while but the man finally walked out the door and Naruto soon followed him after sealing the groceries into a scroll, but just as he went to walk out the door and into the dismal rain a little voice stopped him in his tracks.

]***[

"But mommy you promised!" Cried the little boy as he looked up at his frazzled mother with tears in his eyes.

"I know baby but we don't have the money." The mother tried to reason with the seven year old but he wasn't having it.

"But it's her birthday mommy..." The boy muttered, defeated. His mother felt horrible as she watched her little one sniffle, he had been looking forward to giving his little friend a present for her birthday after all and she had promised him she would get him any present he wanted but even this little doll was far to rich for her blood, she worked as a waitress in the slums and struggled to feed herself and her child ever since her husband left them years ago.

She watched her baby boy, her kind, loving little boy slowly reach up towards the counter and grasp the doll, its pretty glass eyes reflecting the crestfallen boy's face as he turned to return the doll to her friends on the shelf. Just as he began walking a hand reached down and caught his tiny little shoulder.

Craning his head to look at the hooded stranger both the child and mother felt fear as they looked up at him in his soaked clothes with bright red hair falling down his chest from beneath the hood. The man reached out an open hand and gestured towards the doll in the boys arms. The boy handed over the toy with shaking hands and the man turned towards the cashier and, to the great surprise of the weary waitress from the slums, slapped down a single bill and muttered a soft.

"Keep the change." Before turning away from the shocked cashier, who stared at the piece of paper with wide eyes, and placed the doll back in the arms of the boy who stared at him wind awe as the man turned to the mother to press something hard and thick into her hands.

"Help yourself." He muttered in her ear as he walked away and out into the pouring rain with his head down and his hands in his pockets. The woman dazed after him for a while until her son drew her out of her daze as he jumped up and around her as he tried to show her the toy. She looked down into her hands and gasped. Sitting in the cups of her hands was three green cylinders as thick as her wrist with the exception of the third which was slightly smaller than the other. She looked towards the cashier with questioning eyes to find him still standing there, staring wide eyed at the bill in his hand, the woman looked at the bill and her heart stopped when she saw all the zeros printed on the paper...

***][***

Naruto entered his empty apartment and unsealed his purchases then proceeded to place them away. Shizune had warned him to eat better if he wanted to heal properly but he didn't see the point, why should he care if he heals? He's dealt with pain his entire life what was this compared to a broken heart, a lonely existence, and unrequited love? If only he didn't live to see people smile, then he wouldn't be putting rabbit food in his fridge instead of raman. Once he had the groceries put away he stripped out of his waterlogged clothing and dumped it in the laundry chute, he had the whole building to himself, the damn village wouldn't even let him have neighbors, god forbid he make friends. At least the rent was cheap thanks to the Third.

Naruto felt his heart squeeze in remembrance of the old man who practically raised him, indirectly of course. The old man couldn't just adopt him due to his situation, but he did provide him the protection he needed, food to eat, and clothes to wear. Sure there was a few pit falls here and there thanks to bad apples but the old man came through in the end.

And now he was dead, yet another person gone due to his failure as a human being. If the third wasn't so caught up protecting Naruto's sorry ass he would have been able to keep up his training or would have been able to foresee the invasion but he wasn't, he was to focused on taking care of a useless orphan. Hiruzen was as close to a father he ever had and now...he's gone.

A tear fell down Naruto's cheek and he whipped it away as he jumped into the shower in an attempt to free himself of the chill that was setting into his bones. As the warm water streamed unto him Naruto felt the vice slowly depressurize as he soaked his scars in the warm water. The pain of his throbbing knee, shoulder, back, and body easing in the face of the water.

Naruto finally dragged himself out of his bath about an hour later and dressed, a complicated procedure now a days. He exited his bathroom and made his way downstairs to check the mailbox, his hands being full when he came up. Going up to his box he opened it and pulled out the several letters inside, closed it, and made his way back upstairs.

Placing the mail on his table he poked his way through it.

"bill, bill, bill, bill-jury duty?" he tossed that one." Scam, Scam, credit card." those joined their buddy in the trash until a final envelope lay on the table."A letter?"

Reaching out his hand Naruto looked at the addresses on the front.

"From the Nara? What do they want with- Oh." The flicker of light died in his heart as he remembered the fact that he had killed a member of the clan. Justified or not he still killed a man, one they called family, but Naruto just couldn't find it in himself to care. If they wanted blood they could have it, he didn't regret that day, He only wished Ino hadn't just receded from the world, transferring to another unit and everything. He felt lonely, worthless. He had showed her how much of a monster he was and she had reacted accordingly by hiding herself away from him. He didn't feel like she owed him, even so she had repaid him by telling her clan the truth and calming them down so they were even. It's just...they had gotten along so well. She was easy to get along with, laughed at his jokes, and allowed him his dignity at time while enforcing his limits, but what if it was all an act. Just a mask she put on to do her job, she was a nurse. Wasn't that their job, to keep the patient happy even if their very existence makes your skin crawl in disgust? Was it all a lie?

***]flashback end[***

It was these thoughts, these memories, this pain that washed over Naruto as he opened the long dormant door to his apartment as the sun sunk below the horizon. Finally free of Tsunade's clucking over him he had decided to move himself back in to his old apartment, he hadn't been here since that night all those months ago but he now entered his longtime home with a different mindset. He was happy, content. He had Ino, and with her in his life all things were possible even, god willing, that long coveted family he had always dreamt of. Naruto didn't want to get to far ahead of himself so he shook it off and stepped inside followed by several dozen clones. Only four or five carried the stuff he took with himself when he left the rest carried scrolls filled with things that Ino, Shizune, and Tsunade insisted he needed.

Stepping out of the hallway from the door and into the main room Naruto was expecting to see the same old raggedy furniture with dust covering everything, and in a sense he did get the dust and furniture. What he did not expect was the Grand piano dominating his living room. Naruto felt a stirring within him at the sight of the piano, it was beautiful. Strong legs wrought in the shape of golden angels held the bulk of the instrument off the ground, the bareness of their backs disappearing into the wind blown dresses, taking the angels' legs with them as each angel reached out a single delicate hand to hold the umbral case from the ground. The wood itself was a rich ebony, so dark it took in the light around it, and was decorated with bright gold and sanguine crimson, coincidentally the same shade of Naruto's hair, twisted into various flourishes and filigree decorating the glossy surface to come together at the center pf the top board to the form of a tribal style heart, leaving the hollow in the center black while the red and gold enveloped it to shape the heart. It was gorgeous, astounding, it was almost as if someone had taken pure obsidian, carved it into a piano, and embossed it with molten gold and rubies the pure beauty and craftsmanship astounded Naruto, so much so that he was afraid to touch the thing. He had been trained as a Ninja and knew that this could some way or another be a trap, a highly expensive one, but a trap none the less. Naruto inspected the masterpiece as best he could until he came across a sealed envelope placed gently upon the fall board that covered the keys with his name written in delicate, and extravagant, handwriting, the author haven turned the O in his name into a heart of its own. With great care, Naruto gingerly lifted it from the piano and quickly sent a pulse of chakra into it. Determining that it was a simple letter Naruto turned it over to see that it had been sealed with a kiss, a dark red shade of lipstick that tickled the back of his mind and brought back a glimpse of crimson eyes and plump lips, memories of warm embraces and gentle kisses with that same shade painted across those same lips...

Naruto delicately opened the letter and slipped the contents free of its confines.

A Gift My love

born from my heart

to show you my love

since we are apart

so please, my love

play me a song

something to warm me

all night long

And as your finger brushes the key

Do me a favor

And think of me...

Forever your's,

Izanami.

His fingers trembled as he lifted the covering to reveal the glittering keys. Naruto placed himself upon the delicate crimson velvet of the piano matching bench and, with the memories of a far off dream, began to play.

***][***

The soft tones of a piano began to flutter into the chambers of the one known as the Dark lady, moonlight shined through the floor to ceiling widows to dance in her raven hair, spread out like a great umbral ocean against the rich crimson of her bed sheets. The music blew in with the night wind, soothing her troubled mind amidst the shadows of her heart, the strings of which strummed in tune with the piano. A soft smile graced her lips as she buried her nose deeper against the scent of her beloved which drenched the pillow in her arms. With the music in her ears and his scent in her nose she could almost believe that he was here, in her arms once more where he belonged. With that in her lonely mind she swung a slender leg over the substitute and gently pulled it closer and began to softly move against it, seeking to satisfy her desires while she had her beloved in her arms and the music played, if only for a moment.

Her release, her crescendo, coincided with the one of the music from the sea. Her release stained the covers and her lover/pillow, but she didn't care. She relished this moment of heat, of passion amidst the coldness of life with him gone from her side. All she did, all she'd done, was to have him with her once more, perfect and whole. A strong breeze blew in from the sea, bringing to her once more a reminder of her lover, he always smelled of the sea, of the unknowable depths of the ocean to which he was born. Her Naruto, her maelstrom, brought with him passion, and warmth when he entered her life and had taken it all with him when he lost his way, but for this one simple moment in time, of music and shadows, she had him back. His heat, his passion, his love, sent to her from across the waves as she drifted to sleep.

***]chapter 12 end[***

 _ **Music inspired by Myuuji's Moonlight Menschen**_

 _ **Read/Review/Dry hump body pillows!/and Review again!**_


	13. Thoughts and Ruminations

_**Hey guys I know that last chapter was a little out their but it was to show Naruto's current state of mind. Anyway I hope you guys/gals enjoy.**_

***]Thoughts and Ruminations[***

The apartment complex bustled with activity, shinobi passed in and out the threshold of the sole occupied living space as they hauled various equipment from up the stairs and into the apartment. Inside the blonde bombshell known as the fifth studied the intricate handwriting of a note with a frown. She found nothing wrong with the note, the ink was a highly expensive compound made from squid ink and sharks teeth, great for sealing, but otherwise normal as it held no abnormal properties. The paper was composed from mahogany and was just as harmless, and expensive, as the ink. The poem itself had no recognizable keywords that would trigger an epileptic event, it was beautiful even, but then why was Naruto clutching his head at his kitchen table. The Hokage had sent her anbu to retrieve the boy for a mission and they had found him pounding away at the damnable piano as his fingers bled, their ragged points smearing the crimson ichor across the ivory keys. The beauty of the tones being marred by the horror of the state of the pianist as his eyes produced tears to assuage their arid dryness as he stared off into oblivion. Tears that fell upon the keys to mix with the crimson smears to leak onto the beige flooring.

The ANBU, horrified at the sight, had tackled the boy away from the contraption and subdued the broken man amidst a cacophony of mad giggles and screams. Once the operative had secured the boy they had rushed over to her office to report the situation to Tsunade, who had immediately summoned the R&D department to investigate but they had found nothing of interest upon the infernal beauty of the Instrument so Tsunade had then allowed them to cart off their equipment.

The blonde Hokage looked up at the troubled teen to see the dark haired beauty Hinata making tea. She had arrived even before the rest of them, she was the one who found him after all. Tsunade felt guilty for assigning the girl the task of watching over Naruto as he and Ino, who was stuck in surgery, grew closer and closer, but the girl had insisted on the grounds that it was her duty to watch over him for all he had done for her over the years so Tsunade had reluctantly allowed her to do so.

Hinata moved with grave and poise as she mixed and brewed the necessary herbs for tea, moving through the steps as skillfully and confidently as a dancer. Kaminari-do-odora-kanojo, (She who dances with lightning), was certainly living up to her name as she quietly cared for the shell shocked young man, giving him a gently touch, just a brush of her delicate hand as she passed by, to guide him back whenever he began to delve to deep in his troubled mind. She could only do so much as decorum allowed, she was already breaching good manners by laying her hand upon his fevered flesh but she dared not go further in current company, she had an image to uphold after all and she doubted the Hyuga currently present would be discrete.

When the tea was finished she placed a cup on the table for Naruto and made sure she was in his direct line of sight by sitting directly before him on the table as she took small sips of her own cup. She had changed out of her anbu gear into a white yukata decorated with lightning flowers, beautiful blue bulbs that formed in clusters reminiscent of the scars left behind by a lightning strike on the body. Beautiful and deadly, the oath and creed of all Hyuga.

Hinata was thankful of her long tresses of hair, as they hid her eyes from sight as the pupilless pearls watched her paramour as he gingerly reached for the proffered cup to shakily raise it to his cracked lips. She didn't know how long he had been stuck at the damnable piano, long enough for his fingers to bleed and his lips to chap. The Fulgarian dancer wanted to tear the blasted thing to kindling but hid her wrath behind a serene mask of peace in the hopes of soothing whatever had taken over Naruto.

Naruto drunk greedily from his cup, only for Hinata to refill it once more as soon as it was placed upon the old wooden platform, long worn down by years of use. The redhead was so quiet, so inexplicably silent it was unnerving to the heiress as she watched him patiently as he chugged down yet another cup. It pained her greatly to see him like this, so frightened, so broken. She wished could just wrap him in her arms and never let him go, but her status as a noble, as an Hyuga prevented her from doing so just as much as his relationship with Ino. Hinata had to fight back her tears of frustration, he was shaking, _Naruto_ was shaking and afraid right in front of her and she couldn't do a damn thing about it! She wanted to rage, to cry and lash out just to allieve herself of her own burning frustration, but she didn't. Instead she took small sips from her cup, her soft defiance showing through her facade as she left bright crimson stains upon the chipped rim of Naruto's fine china. Leaving her mark upon its chipped and cracked body in subtle rebellion at her inability to leave it upon the scarred and broken body of her crimson knight, which lay bare before her from the waist up. His hair was loose so it framed his face in its vermilion softness as his mismatched hands cradled the teacup between them with the thumb of his right hand tracing the rim.

Hinata's sharp eyes traced the many scars that dotted his body, the most disturbing of which where the many pale white marks left behind by someone's teeth situated around is neck and pectorals. She wasn't so foolish to think them left behind by some animal they where the same shape and diameter of a woman's bite, how they had gotten there, she wasn't sure but she had a rather good idea, one she didn't like one bit. The shear number of them was disturbing in an of itself, some even laid atop each other in a gruesome and primal display of dominance. She could just feel the evil radiating off them, a stain left behind during their creation as the makers chakra molded itself into Naruto's flesh. Digging so deep into his body that extraction and detection would be nearly impossible save for the fearsome eyes of the Hyuga on the part of the latter, even then the casual observer would assume that the residual chakra was left behind during the healing process and was, in fact, Naruto's own chakra, but Hinata was no casual observer. She knew Naruto's distinct chakra like the back of her hand, it was what kept her warm during the most fridged of her fathers glares. She would seek its warmth whenever she wished for comfort and had deeply missed the blazing flame during its absence. It was a blessing, in a way, when Naruto was pronounced MIA. It had forced her to stand on her own two feet and, as a result, had led her to where she was today, just yet another thing that she owed her beloved Naruto.

It was when Hinata, whose pale white eyes had attracted the frightened violet gaze of her paramour who gave her a smile despite the terror in his heart, was just about ready to throw decorum to the wind and say to hell with it that the door banged open and a certain blonde rushed in still wearing her sweat soaked scrubs. Her hair had come undone from her bun and half of it was sticking in the air while the other half trailed behind her as she rushed in looking like a hot mess.

Naruto looked up at the sudden commotion and smiled broadly, the light returning to his eyes as he spotted the disheveled Yamanaka, who made a beeline for the redhead and tackled him like train. As the two dissolved into a cluster of kisses and tears Hinata stood silently from her chair and made her way outside but was stopped by Tsunade who caught her arm on her way out and gave her a meaningful look, the heiress just smiled softly and gently removed the Hokage's hand and left through the wide open threshold and into the glaring midday sun.

***][***

Izanami was tiffed at the sudden silence that had awakened her as the music stopped, shattering the illusion she had swathed herself in. Rising from the depths of the lavish bed the red eyed beauty breakfasted in her chambers to the wonderful view of the crashing waves and the rotting corpse of that foolish Hidan. Her warning frightened the servants beautifully as they cleaned the room, its dead eyes watching them as they tended to their lady's breakfast. Izanami watched them as they did their best to avoid looking up at the decaying immortal and took great pleasure at their efforts. Once Naruto returned to her they would no longer be allowed in the chambers and the transition would be smoother if they feared entering the room, she couldn't have anyone disturbing her love's rest, they had a lot of catching up to do after all, he would need as much rest as he could get.

Smiling at the thought the nude woman rose from her seat and sashayed across the room as her umbral curtain trailed behind her against the marble floors and stepped over the various maids on her way to her bath and threw open the large double doors and made her way through the wide opening, designed for certain individuals to be carried through unhindered, to sink into the warm waters of her prepared bath.

Once she had finished her womanly preparations for the day she left the bathroom and entered her opulent walk in closet. Set far into the wall with many articles of the finest clothing and jewelry the closet was divided into two separate sides, one for her and one for her crimson prince. The clothes ranged from armor to silks in all colors and patterns, only the best was allowed to grace either of their skin. Priceless metals and Jewels spilled out from coffers on either side, spoils from her many conquest and ventures, as she made her way down the aisle casting her gaze from side to side. At the far side of the room, hanging upon the wall, was a painting. Done of happier times where a man serenaded a woman atop his piano, her hair draping down the sides as she gazed down at him with a soft, serene, smile of love and contentment as his eyes met hers with a fiery passion. She missed those days, the days she had been reminded of during the night as her love accepted her gift. Days of fire and passion just before her darling was taken from her, just when he was finally perfect, a prince among men, just as he was always meant to be before fate separated them once more. But she would have him in her embrace once again, fate be damned.

Smiling at the days to come Izanami, as was her custom, looked to her inner eye to see just what her naughty little kit was wearing today, a queen must match her king after all. Her fanged smile turned into a enraged roar as the seal placed just behind Naruto's left eye activated.

***][***

Ino smiled down at Naruto with teary eyes, her weight pressed down on him as they laid on the floor. They where alone, everyone else had cleared out soon after the girl had arrived and the two just laid there as Ino showered Naruto in affection, which the love starved child within him appreciated greatly as he soaked up the adoration of the blonde as she worried over him in her own way. The flood of emotions was so great that he ignored the pain behind his eyes as she smiled down at him just before her lips met his in an explosion of heat and thundering hearts.

"I love you..."Ino slipped in between kisses before burying herself in his chest to hide her burning cheeks. A small smile appeared on Naruto's face as those three little words chased all his demons and fears away.

Wrapping his arms around her Naruto kissed the top of her head and brought her closer, squishing her against his body as he whispered.

"Love you more." Closing his eye Naruto ignored the growing pain in favor of burrowing his face within the crook of her neck and drifted off to sleep. He knew his little episode had earned him an appointment with the Yamanaka's but he pushed that to the future and slept.

***][***

Hinata sat at her vanity brushing her long hair into a silken sheen. Bedrooms where some of the only rooms that the Hyuga allowed to be beyond their sight via the use of special seals given to them by the illustrious Uzumaki. With her status as heiress Hinata was allowed a great many freedoms but with those freedoms came limitations. _Uphold the image of the clan._ She could hear her fathers voice. _Maintain the honor of the clan at all cost. Duty before self._ On and on the list went, droning in her head like a broken record. 

Hinata cast her pale eyes towards a corner of her mirror where she had taped a old and faded picture. Though the years had done it no good she could still make out the scene that was frozen forever in the small rectangle of space and time, her mind transposing all the vibrancy of the colors that time had taken away. A short and bony child peered out from the picture with a broad smile, his face was bruised and dirty but his smile shone through the grime and discolored skin as he wrapped his arm around a blushing child whose face looked like it could melt the snow around them. The picture was taken the day Naruto had saved her from the bullies that terrorized her that day, standing for her when she couldn't. Her mother, swollen with child, had teased her with that picture for months before she died. She would always gloat that her little girl had a boyfriend already as her husband sat calmly amidst her storm of activity. Hiashi was only calm in those days, never cold, just collected.

Hinata missed those days.

During Naruto's absence all she needed was to look at the photo to remember the warmth of his skin, the shine of his smile, and the heat of his existence would bring peace to her troubled soul in her darkest moments. When her resolve was feeble she would look towards the glowing red hair and smiling amethysian eyes with but a glance to steel her nerves, but now a different smile filled her mind. It was the same heartfelt grin she had craved but it was not aimed towards her starved soul. Instead it was aimed towards that blonde little whore who bounced from man to man like a basketball. That blue eyed bitch had somehow dug her cum stained claws within _her_ precious little Naruto!

 **SNAP!**

Hinata looked heatedly at the mangled remains of her brush, the finely carven bone handle had snapped in two from the force of her grip. Hinata placed the trashed eight hundred dollar brush on her vanity and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm her rage, but was largely unsuccessfully.

When she was sure her emotions were under control Hinata slid open a drawer to reveal several more and unique brushed of equal quality. Selecting one with a ruby embedded in the back she preceded to brush her hair once more.

Once she was finished she picked up the remains of the previous brush and walked over to a hatch hidden in the wall. Opening the hatch she dumped the broken brush inside and went to bathe.

***][***

"So that's your answer." The Daimyo of snow country sat across from the Hokage with a blank look upon her face.

"Yes, I'm afraid that Naruto has already been re enrolled as a Shinobi of the leaf and is not open to negotiation." Tsunade pushed a file back towards the other woman, her featured schooled in a similar mask as the woman, who stiffly reached across the table and retrieved the parcel of documents.

"And the other issue?" Yukie Fujikaze asked, placing the documents inside a sealed case.

"The answer is no as well, Naruto is happy as he is at the moment." Tsunade smiled, but the sentiment wasn't shared by the younger woman, who sent a chilling glare towards the unaffected Hokage.

"At the moment." the Daimyo said in a clipped tone as she handed the case off to her bodyguard, one of the few remaining snow demons of Yukigakure, fierce warriors that earned their name through fire and blood. The order was similar to the guardian twelve of Konoha and the seven swordsmen of Kiri and had been dismantled by Yukie's uncle during his usurpation of her country with those that remained being the best of them all and here stood the bulk of the demons, three in all. Tall men with horned forehead protectors and re breathers that released a frosty mist with each breath that sent their massive chest, hidden beneath the layers of their sleeveless blue robes and furred collars, heaving as twin blades peaked over their shoulders. Even so the Hokage was unperturbed as the three gave off no hostilities, even if they did she had her own escort and abilities to fall behind.

"And what that suppose to mean?" Tsunade crossed her arms beneath her ample bosom and leaned back in her chair, a little disappointed at the snow demons lack of interest. Yukie looked up from her preparations to leave.

"When it comes to Konoha Naruto's happiness has a horrible habit of being immaterial and fleeting." She said pointedly and stood to leave.

"Ino's a good person, she wouldn't do anything to hurt Naruto! They're happy!" Tsunade challenged, standing from her chair as well. Yukie looked back over her shoulder at the Hokage, pausing as a guard opened the door and another stepped through as the third placed himself before his mistress in case of attack from the doorway.

"Didn't she also doubt and ridicule him as he grew?" The Daimyo perked one manicured brow.

"People change." Tsunade defended from her spot behind her desk.

"And old habits die hard. Mark my words Naruto will never find true happiness in this pit of vipers, all it shall be is immaterial and fleeting." And with that, she disappeared down the hallway flanked by the icy killing machines.

Yukie exited the building and entered into a lavish carriage previously prepared for her. A snow demon sat up front with the driver as several ice clones flanked the carriage, each identical to the snow demons, as the two originals entered the carriage with their mistress. Yukie sat in front of the oldest of the three, his long white hair was frosted over and framed his hard features as his glowing blue eyes looked at her expectantly.

"What now?" Asked the Snow demon known as Kuai Fang, grandmaster of the Yukioni. Yukie looked at the iceman with the blazing fire of determination in her sky blue eyes.

"Take me to the Daimyo." She commanded the demon, who nodded and slammed his hand against the side of the carriage in a code known only to the Yukioni, telling the driver where to go and soon they vanished into the setting sun.

***]Chapter 13 end[***

 _ **Read/Review/Don't piss off Izzy!/ And Review again!**_


	14. Ecstasy and Agony

***] Ecstasy and agony [***

Naruto was miserable. Dressed in an expensive orange kimono decorated with purple windblown flowers and his signature swirl upon the back with his hair pulled into a single thick braid which rested over his right shoulder in his lap as he sat in the middle of the long banquet table between both Kiba and Choji with an empty space between him and the Inuzuka for Ino, who had yet to show. Naruto didn't even want to be here, much less pretend to be happy about his company. At the head of the table, dressed in his stereotypical black, sat the _repentant_ Sasuke Uchiha, His hollow eye socket covered with a patch like Naruto's yet with Uchiha clan symbol etched upon it. It was a small comfort for Naruto however as to the right hand of the traitorous Uchiha sat the heart-clenchingly beautiful visage of Sakura Haruno, a blindingly bright smile upon her face. Her pink hair was done up into a simple, yet elegant bun that left a few delicate strands of hair to frame her smiling face and glowing eyes, and dressed in a white kimono decorated with green flowers that matched her eyes she was enchanting, wonderful, and painful all at the same time as she clung to the Uchiha's arm. Yes, happiness was the last thing on his mind as he alternated between picking at the plate of food before him and sending covert glanced towards the pair as they talked animatedly with those around them.

It still hurt, the longing inside wasn't drowned out by his love for Ino, and that fact alone added to his pain. He felt guilty pining after Sakura even when Ino happily accepted his affections. Love was a cruel mistress, and would not simply die because she wasn't wanted. No, she would fester and bleed like an open wound until enough time had passed that it finally closed yet still ache with the pains of what if's and what could've been.

It was an ache Naruto was all to familiar with as he gazed at his first love as she tended to her own, a pain that flared with every smile, ever touch, every glance shared between them like daggers to his heart.

' _Where the hell is Ino!?'_ He thought, looking around the room in the hopes of catching a glance of his absent girlfriend. She had been acting kind of odd lately and usually she was very understanding when it came to Sakura, but the blonde had insisted he come to this party and had promised him a reward for his cooperation. So here he was, but, where was she?

After a while he finally spotted her as she suddenly appeared next to the happy couple to whisper in the Pinkett's ear, causing the girls to giggle before she locked eyes with Naruto and made her way to him with a smile.

It wasn't the first time Naruto was struck by just how beautiful the mind reader could be, but she never failed to surpass his expectations. Dressed to match with inverted colors, purple fabrics and orange flowers, she had allowed her long, long hair to fall in waves down over her shoulders to frame her face in gentle curls as her azure blue eyes gleamed at him as a peculiar necklace glinted in the light from her graceful neck.

She sat next to him with a smile and a kiss whilst ignoring the drooling Inuzuka next to her.

"Miss me?" She teased as she drew back from his lips.

"Always." Naruto said as he took his hand in hers beneath the table. He brought his free hand up and fingered the necklace at her throat.

"What's this?" The fox shaped pendant hung from a golden chain and sported two glowing rubies for eyes. Naruto had never seen it before, she had never worn it and he didn't it was a coincidence that Ino just so happened to possess a fox shaped pendant when he considered who formerly inhabited the space inside his stomach.

Ino had been setting her place at the table when he reached for the necklace, but she now turned to smile at Naruto while thrusting out her chest to make certain things more visible to his eye, the pendant being only one.

"Do you like it? I got just this afternoon from the jewelers, it was supposed to be in sooner but there was a problem with the order." She said with a slight pout, obviously a little upset.

"And what would that be?" Naruto said with a quirked brow.

"The original shipment was stolen so the company sent off for a replacement but…they got the eyes wrong." Ino fiddled with the necklace, bringing attention to the fox's ruby eyes." They're supposed to be amethyst."

Naruto gave a little smile at that, He didn't deserve her. His grip tightened around her hand, causing her to look up to see his soft smile draw nearer until his lips met hers in a soft kiss.

Across the room a pair of women stared listlessly at the men to which their hearts belonged. One, a sullen redhead with choppy hair and glasses, stared off towards the head of the table while her dark-haired companion silently sipped her drink.

"It will do you no good to stare." Hinata said, breaking the silence as she placed her drink upon the table. Next to her was the distant, and recently released, relative of Naruto, Karin Uzumaki. Her red eyes flitted from the Uchiha towards the Hyuga in a glare.

"Maybe you should follow your own advice! You've been sitting here all night looking constipated till that blonde showed up and then you clammed up." Karin snapped but Hinata remained calm as she looked towards the girl with a slight blush to her cheeks.

"Is it that obvious?" She asked the sensor, who calmed and settled back into her chair.

"No, not really it's just that your chakra's been agitated ever since he walked in. Like your wanting to do something but can't, and then the blonde walked in it was like everything shut off. I don't get it, what's so special about that guy?" Karin figured the guy was distantly related to the royal family of her clan but seeing as he was still here and not in Uzushiogakure she figured it didn't matter and she hadn't even spoken to the guy.

Hinata was silent for a moment but soon smiled softly as she looked over Karin's shoulder.

"You'll see."

***][***

Naruto approached the girls table with soft and unhurried steps. He had spotted the pair out the corner of his eye when Ino left for the bathroom, he found it odd considering she just got here but knew better than to ask, so when he saw the two he figured he could kill two birds with one stone seeing as how the redhead was supposedly his cousin and he never did thank Hinata for what she did for him.

Hinata was dressed simple, for a princess, in a lavender kimono with a dark blue trim and had left her hair down for the evening while Karin was dressed in black as if she was at a funeral and, if what he'd been told was true, he could empathize. Both girls were lovely, but Karin's sour mood pervaded the atmosphere and staved off any would be suitors. Naruto didn't mind however, as he felt the same blistering pain she did.

As he neared their table from behind Karin he shoved those feelings aside and smiled towards the heiress as her eyes landed on him. Hinata appeared to be saying something to her companion and it must have been about him as the girl soon turned around to look at him.

***][***

 _Warmth_. A bright and calming warmth washed over Karin Uzumaki as she turned in her chair and activated her ability to sense chakra. The energy within him drowned out all others as it bathed her in its serene radiation, its light burned out all her sorrows, all her anxieties and pain and left her with a sense of ease unlike any she had ever felt before. It was like she was lazing around in the sun with the wind in her hair and her toes in the glistening waters of a babbling brook, but it was not perfect. A great cloud hung over the serene meadow, a cloud of sadness that blanketed the horizon which the sun barley kept at bay as a monster prowled within the clouds darkest reaches, ever reaching, ever inviting….

Karin forcibly snapped shut her inner eye and stared in awe of the man before her. She had seen him from afar but now…everything was tinged with the inner warmth of his chakra. His long red hair, a shade darker than her own, seemed to shine in the light of his smile as it rested over his strong shoulder in a thick braid. As he moved towards their table the golden collar of his Kimono shifted, allowing her to see the barest glimpse of scared skin, the familiar sight sunken and puckered flesh that matched those upon her own body gave her sort of kinship with the man as he made his way through the crowds of tables. She wondered if he was the same as her, cursed with the gift to heal others at the expense of one's own body, she wondered if he had ever been forced to be a living first aid as she had.

The chakra behemoth stopped just to the left of her before an empty seat and Karin looked up into his face. With his hair braided she was allowed full view of his visage, his strong jaw, a delicate nose bent ever so slightly that it was barely visible to even the trained eye, a childish grin, and a brutal, ragged scar carved into the right side of his face beginning at the beginning of his hair line it made its twisted path down until it vanished beneath the steel bar that was his eyepatch, only to reappear beneath it to sharply cut back to carve diagonally down his cheek and ended where the jaw met the neck to just barley miss the jugular. Her eyes traced the disfigurements path twice before she brought herself to look him in the eye, a vibrant and pulsating amethysian sea full of life but deep inside, past the surface of the shining ocean of molten gemstone, danced a multitude of shadows.

The man seemed to speak but all Karin heard was her pulse throbbing in her ears, he reached out a hand, but her body was numb as she lost herself within the darkness of his soul.

A sudden jolt of pain had Karin jerking her hand away from where it lay on the table and glaring at Hinata whose delicate hand sat where Karin's once lay with small sparks flying from her fingertips as she looked pointedly towards the man before them.

Turning back to their guest Karin gave a weak smile and took his proffered hand with a shaking hand.

"Umm Hi." She offered weakly towards him. The redhead, the male one, smiled at her.

"Hello, Karin, wasn't it? I hear you and I are related." He said happily, as if it was the greatest thing in the world as he released her hand.

"Distantly." Karin mumbled as she huddled deeper into her chair, embarrassed about her earlier actions. He looked down at the floor thoughtfully for a moment then turned his gaze back towards her.

"I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing." He said, causing his fellow rougette to blush and mumble gibberish. While she was muttering Naruto, though she didn't know it, did them both a favor and sat right in her line of sight so neither of them could see the head table where only pain awaited them.

"Well Karin I'm Naruto. It's nice to meet another Uzumaki." Naruto smiled once again towards her before looking toward Hinata.

"I'm sorry about the other day, you shouldn't have to see me like that." Naruto said, switching gears from happy first meeting, to solemn apology.

"It's quite all right Naruto, If I couldn't handle you at your worst than how could I call myself your friend." Hinata smiled softly, as was her custom, as she laid a hand upon Naruto's own. Naruto considered her pearlescent, lavender tinged eyes and smiled.

"Thanks, for everything." Hinata felt like she was about to cry as her crush said those words to her. It wasn't what she wanted, but it was good enough for her as they settled into a comfortable silence as she rested her hand upon his.

"Hey guys!" Ino exclaimed as she plopped down in the seat next to Naruto, her blond hair bouncing as she did so. Karin didn't need her sensing ability to know that Hinata was positively murderous as she removed her hand from Naruto's. It was only due to her lifetime of training that she could restrain herself from stopping the blonde's heart with a single juuken to the ribs. Instead she smiled warmly towards the girl and offered her tea, which was accepted as the group devolved into inane chatter.

Karin found it hard to remove her eyes from Naruto. She followed his every move with utmost efficiency as the conversation droned on. From the way he described his training to how he wielded his fork she learned about him. Through the little-known art of listening she learned that he was an orphan, that he grew up alone, that he hated zucchini, and that he was apparently gone for five years. But never was the topic of his scars brought up, it was always 'while you were gone…' or 'when you were away…' that they even referenced his absence. During one mortifying tale about someone named Rock lee Karin garnered the courage to ask.

"What happened to your eye?" Conversation stopped dead as the other girl's heads, in conjunction, swiveled her way to level her with a glare as Naruto stared at the table. Tension was rising as Ino and Hinata bored holes into Karin, who was trying to vanish into the folds of her chair.

"I dunno." Naruto said, breaking the tension with a shrug of his shoulders before going back to cutting up his steak.

"What do you mean you don't know?!" Karin said, the earlier tension forgotten as she stared dumbfoundedly at her _distant_ relative. It was Ino that answered her this time.

"Naruto doesn't remember what happened to him during his…absence." The blonde said before shifting through her salad for whatever meat remained before Naruto cleared his plate of several pieces of meat, each sliced into perfect, easy to chew cubes, directly into her salad, earning a kiss from his happily surprised girlfriend as Hinata looked on sadly as she returned to poking through her own salad.

"How's it even possible to forget five whole years? That's a lot of time and I don't think he contracted Alzheimer." Karin said, feeling a spike of empathy for Hinata as she sifted through her salad.

"Actually, it's more like two." Naruto said as he lent over the table with plate in hand." I do remember my time with Jiraiya, not exactly fondly mind you, but it had its moments." He finished as he deposited the second half of his steak into the dark-haired girl's meal, earning a delighted smile from Hinata as light trickled back into her eyes.

"You spent time with a Sannin?" Karin said, her eyes widening. She had only even seen Orochimaru himself a handful of times and most of those where from a distance or when he needed healing. Karin was starting to believe that Hinata may be right about Naruto after all.

"Yep, for three years I followed that old perv around the world. He said it was training but it was mostly us hopping from bathhouse to bathhouse for his 'research'." Naruto quoted with his fingers after placing his plate back down on the table. Karin had no idea was this 'research' was but from the disgusted looks of both Ino and Hinata she concluded that it wasn't socially acceptable. She just hoped it wasn't anything like the research Orochimaru conducted on her, Naruto seemed like a nice guy and he didn't deserve to go through what she did.

" That is until I opened my big mouth and bet the perv that I could make it back before he did, and my dumbass got shanghaied to who knows where!" He finished.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that you guys separated on purpose! I always thought that you had been captured during some classified operation and lord Jiraiya made the whole thing up to protect the village!" Ino exclaimed and Naruto shook his head.

"Nothing so glamorous, we were up north visiting one of his contacts when I said I could make the trip home sooner than he could and he took me up on it. Made good time too, I was just hitting the border between the land of rivers and the land of rain when everything just goes blank." Naruto leaned back from the table with one hand placed thoughtfully over his braid. "Next thing I know I'm staring into the bathroom mirror minus an eye and arm." He finished, his eye casted at the reflection in his wineglass of Sakura whispering something into Sasuke's ear with a delighted smile. Ino reached over and gently placed a hand over the one playing with his hair. The action caused Naruto to look up at her soft smile before she leant over to kiss his cheek.

"She was right you know." She said as she pulled away. "It's a beautiful addition to a beautiful person." Naruto smiled softly and laid his head against her shoulder with a sigh.

"What would I do without you?" The blonde said nothing, just rested her head atop his as their fingers entwined in their laps, unnoticing of the bittersweet smile upon Hinata's face as she gazed upon her beloved Naruto in the arms of another. Karin felt for the girl, she understood how it felt to watch the man you love with happy with another woman. It was ecstasy and agony when you truly love someone. On one hand your heart glows in triumph seeing them happy, on the other it blisters in misery that the person who makes them happy isn't you. It's a constant push and pull that eventually leaves a charred and broken husk behind its wake, a harsh reality in which everybody wins but you. Yes, Karin Uzumaki knew this well, what she didn't that both her fellow Uzumaki and the Hyuga also knew the ecstasy and the agony that was unrequited love.

All was silent in their little bubble until a sharp ringing sound shattered their tranquility. All eyes turned to the head of the room where Sasuke stood with both a spoon and wine glass in hand as Sakura clung to his arm.

"I would have your attention for but a moment." Shouted the Uchiha over the dying noise before returning to a more civilized tone. "I would like to thank each of you for coming out tonight in celebration of my release from incarceration and subsequent pardoning of all crimes, but tonight's banquet isn't just about freedom but serves a dual purpose of celebrating the binding of two people." The black-haired nobleman looked towards his companion and nodded. Sakura stepped forward and removed a pair of white silken gloves from off her hands to show off a ring that only her smile outshined as she proclaimed.

"We're getting married!"

***][***

Naruto's entire world shrunk to a single glittering point in space as he glared at the ring upon Sakura's finger, a massive diamond set upon a golden band by prongs designed to look like the magatama of the Uchiha clans Doujutsu. His hands clawed at the tablecloth, tearing through the material and into the wood beneath as his pulse pounded in his ears. A purple haze seeped into his vision as he fought to gain control of himself as Moryo, long since thought dormant, howled in his skull and rattled his cage as Sasuke's words echoed through his head.

'… _rebuilding the Uchiha with that little whore Sakura!'_ With each work a crack appeared inside his eye as a golden light began shining through.

'… _blonde slut Ino and the Milk cow Hyuga…'_ Thick black spikes began poking through the white gauze of his bandaged arm as the cracks grew wider and wider.

'… _give their pathetic lives some meaning…'_ Inch deep gouges now marred the table from the path of his fingers as he lost ground against the ancient entity of destruction and the doorway began to creep open.

'… _the mighty Uchiha!_ '

"Naruto Stop!" Just as the demon was about to taste freedom once again the gate slammed shut as the cracked gateway pieced itself back together as the purple splinters slid back into place over the golden realm until Naruto found himself clasping the Uchiha midair by the neck while Sakura beat her hands against him, screaming at him to stop while her former friend choked the life out of her fiancé, but Naruto didn't let go. His scowl never wavered as the last Uchiha struggled in his grip while Naruto's vice like hold tightened and spots danced before Sasuke's eyes.

"Stop it Naruto please! Let him go!" Too frightened to summon her monstrous strength and risk hurting either of them she sank to her knees and tearfully begged her friend to release her lover. Naruto say the tear stricken face of his first love, it pained him greatly to see even one of her precious jewel like tears fall to the ground amidst the multitude that streamed down her face…

'… _that little whore Sakura!'_ Sasuke's words rushed through his skull once more and Naruto hardened his heart and forced himself away from her.

"You may hate me for the rest of my life, but I can't, I won't let him use you." Sasuke's struggles became fainter and fainter beneath Naruto's vice as a gentle hand laid itself upon his bare chest, his kimono having slipped open during some point to reveal his torn and charred torso. Looking down he met the serene eyes of Hinata as the cool skin of her gentle hand soothed the boiling of his feverish flesh.

"Let him go Naruto." She said softly, her words barely a whisper to his sensitive ears as her pale eyes searched his for any sign of compliance. His skin was like a furnace beneath her soft skin, the rough puckered flesh of his burns tickled her palm as his chest heaved with each labored breath.

"No." Naruto protested with a violent shake of his head. "You don't know what he has planned, I'm doing this for all of you." Sasuke's flimsy struggles had all but ceased as he hung limply from his grip.

Hinata's hand slip upwards upon his chest, past the scorched planes of his left side and into the ridges and valleys of the bites that marred his chest and neck until it gently cupped the side of his face, her elegant thumb stroking the cratered flesh of his scar.

" Do you really think us so weak we can't protect ourselves?" She said, never breaking eye contact with him as Naruto's eye widened.

"N-no I- "He began but was interrupted as Hinata moved a graceful digit to seal his lips.

"Shush, it's okay." Hinata soothed as her other hand came up to rest upon his outstretched arm." Let him go. Please, do it for me."

Naruto considered her for a moment, searching her eyes as they watched each other. It was almost like the entire world had crumbled away as Naruto fought with himself over what to do next until, with a heavy thump, Sasuke Uchiha hit the floor.

Naruto and Hinata stared at each other a moment longer, her hands still upon his fevered flesh, buried in their own little world, until they were forced apart by a certain blonde.

"Let go of him." Ino growled at the heiress, whose pale white eyes sparked in anger but eventually subsided as the blonde tugged hurriedly at her consort.

"Come one Naruto." She said as she pulled him along, still stuck in a daze. Hinata stared after them as they left, her hands clasped at her waist, until she was pulled into a strong hug.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Sakura choked out between her tears as Sasuke gulped air like a mad man. Sakura was strong but Hinata managed to extract herself from her hold and began to leave.

"It wasn't for you." She explained before she turned and walked away.

***][***

"What were you thinking!?" Ino screamed at Naruto as he sat upon the sidewalk with his head in his hands. "You could've killed him!"

"That was the point." Naruto muttered, barely audible enough to be even legible but still the Yamanaka caught it.

"You wanted to kill him!" Ino shouted. "I thought you were over this, you're with me now!" She finished while her hands to her chest in an indicating gesture.

"It's not that simple." Naruto muttered, trying to split his focus between dealing with the screaming demon in his head and the screaming woman outside of it, he'd rather face the demon to be honest.

"Not that simple! Not that simple, what else could it be?! Sakura simply said, 'we're getting married.' And you exploded like a bat outta hell." She threw her arms to the sky." Not that simple!"

"There are things you don't know about, things that he said- "

"That don't matter anymore! The council determined that the residual energies from the curse mark effected his mind, therefor he wasn't in control of his actions. So, whatever he said to you before doesn't matter He's changed!" Ino declared, her words rubbing Naruto the wrong way.

"He's change! People don't just change Ino it's a constant struggle to be better. You can't just 'welp sorry this freaky little tattoo of mine makes me act like a complete asshole, totally not like me at all! Can I have some snickers!'." Naruto shot up from his seat at the curb waving his arms in the air before slamming them back down to his side. A pregnant silence hung in the air as the pair stood in the quiet street.

"Your right, I'm sorry It's just that Sakura's so happy for the first time since you came home. Truly happy, you don't know how she was when she lost he both of you, it was like the life was taken from her. For two years she acted like a zombie." Ino paused to wipe a few tears from her eyes with her sleeve." I just figured she deserved a little happiness you know." Naruto moved to her and wrapped her in his arms.

"I love you." He said as he nuzzled his face deeper into the crook of her neck, which made Ino smile as she did the same to him and the two stood there in companionable silence.

"Hey babe?" Ino said whilst pulling away." I'm going back inside to make sure their okay, will you come by my place tomorrow?"

"I don't mind, but why?" Naruto asked with a raised brow and Ino gave him a wicked grin.

"That's a secret." And with that she was gone, leaving Naruto with a swift kiss on the nose.

***][***

 _ **Sorry guys but the original ending didn't sit right with me, so I deleted it and reworked it into this I hope those that have read the other will read this and I apologize for the inconvenience.**_

 _ **Read/Review/What's that little minx up to? /And review again!**_


	15. Dream's End

***] Dream's End [***

Love. Quite the interesting emotion, if handled properly it can raise cities and topple nations. Burn down tyrants and grant absolution to even the foulest of souls, if handled properly of course. Misused it can annihilate dynasties, break the stoutest of wills, and bring misery to the brightest of smiles. Love is a great and terrible thing, a hostile whirlwind of ecstasy and agony that can bring glorious redemption or vicious damnation. It all depends on the way it is handled.

Such is the case of one sorry individual. Sitting alone in the dark with only the faintest glow of a nearby streetlamp as it filtered in from his window and his thoughts as company, bitter companions to be true. His hunched form rested in a chair pushed against his well-worn table, his head resting woefully in his hand, propped up by the elbow upon the table as his other hand, his left, lay across the roughhewn wood of the ancient platform. All was silent in the house; and the man was deathly still as he stared down the object directly before him, the light from the window glinting dangerously off its side. Not a soul spoke, not a floor board creaked, nor a mouse squeaked in protest as he eyed the vicious answer to his hopeless question.

 _Is it worth it?_

A sad, pitiful little question upon which hung his entire being. He did not wish for this, he had sworn never to go down this path yet here he was, eyeing the temptation. He had seen others resort to such methods when their strength failed them, and they could carry on no longer with the burden placed upon their shoulders. It was an answer to his question, a cruel answer but an answer nonetheless.

The light bouncing from his eye revealed the sorrowful basin of unshed grief they had become due to the misused suffered upon his fragile heart. Long ago his love had freed him from the darkness that writhed within his shattered soul like fetid maggots in a putrid corpse and she appeared like an angel of mercy to free him from his hell, and he thought himself loved, wanted, chosen. But now…now that his angel laughed at his delusions and cast him back to his darkness and he heard its hellish cackle echo in his mind he knew. He knew that it was all a game, a sick and twisted fantasy contrived to break what little of himself that was left after all the years of pain and hatred for the amusement of a spoiled little princess!

With a cry of rage the man shot from his chair and dashed it against the wall. The aged wood of the feeble chair could not stand against the man's wrath and exploded into splintered fragments that rained down upon him as he set about destroying whatever he could until his anger abated once more.

With a shuddering sigh the young man fell back against the wall of his kitchen and slid down its length to rest amongst the shattered remains of his few worldly possessions. He would miss them later, a life of hardship rarely afforded him such luxuries unless gifted to him by his long dead benefactor, but he couldn't find it in himself to care as he cupped his face in his hands and brought his knees to his chest and, for the first time in the many years since he gave his first love that damnable promise, he wept. For what seemed like hours he poured out his heart and soul, the most minor of things joined the greatest of his tragedies as all his pain and anger flowed through him at once to douse his face in great shuddering sobs. He just couldn't understand it, they had been so happy together so why? Why did she have to do that? Why was he never good enough for them? Why was he always last place?

Since day one no one had wanted him, His parents abandoned him to the mercies of the world and four years later the orphanage did so as well as the other children avoided him as the adults terrorized his youth. Every girl he's ever loved has used him like a toy until they tossed him away with the trash. He was such a fool to believe anyone would love him, he was nothing, a useless weapon in a time of piece. He didn't belong to a prestigious clan and didn't possess great wealth or the means to gain it. All he brought to the table were pipe dreams of glory and his love, and it was never enough. It was never enough for him to grant his life in service to the nation, it was never enough for him to seek only the happiness of those around him even when it cost his own, it didn't matter if he lay bleeding before them with the life draining from his eyes he would always be cast aside. An unamusing, broken little doll best left forgotten amidst the other trash.

As his sobs fell way to silence the man leant his head back against the cold tile of the kitchen wall and a soft glinting caught his eye.

 _Can it stop the pain?_

There, amidst the rubble, lay the answer. His silent, unblinking staring partner loomed like a great shadow in the remains of his table, tossed aside in his rage. And soon the man and the object once again entered their staring contest, a contest that did not last long as the man soon found his fragmented strength leave him and his will falter as he surged forward to receive the answer to his broken-hearted inquiry.

 _Will it ever stop?_

***] Three days later [***

It had been three days, three godawful days since anyone had seen or heard from Naruto. Not Jiraiya, not Kakashi, not Tsunade, not even the proprietors of Ichiraku raman had seen hide nor hair of their favorite customer and it was pissing her off. On the first day she simply wrote it off as him laying low, on the second day she began to feel a nagging in the back of her mind but ignored it, it was on the fourth day, today, that she had finally gathered enough courage to seek him out.

It was a quiet day as the pristine and elegant Hinata made her way through the bustling city holding a picnic basket as she moved towards the slums where her heart lived alone in his lonely apartment. A pair of guards flanked her with highborn glares shooting towards everyone as she ambled along her way. Though she gave of the impression that she was both unhurried and serene, within the Hyuga was a storm of anxiety she couldn't banish. She worried over many things, trivial to some but to her those small little details meant the world to her as it did to all young women. She fretted over how she would be received, if Naruto would be happy to see her or would she be an unwelcome sight. Speaking of sights, she wondered if he would find her attractive in her outfit, her long dark hair placed in a cute bun with a pair of tight jean capris with folded cuffs and a lavender top that highlighted her assets, hidden beneath a light windbreaker like her hoody of course, she could never truly be so bold as to appear in front of anyone like that, Naruto being the exception.

As she neared the apartment complex the buildings drew closer and tighter packed than those before as businesses and houses gave way to apartments and housing projects. The buildings became more and more decrepit and defaced the farther she went down the filthy streets as her guards entered high alert and activated their Byakugan as they knew better than to attempt to deter their princess from her path. As such few dared to temp the Hyuga's wrath and those that did, did not impede progress.

After the first three the rest of the vagabonds learned their lesson and kept a wide birth between them and the trio as they continued in peace with the princess never taken from her anxious thoughts thanks to her dutiful, and unneeded, escort.

When the apartment complex with a singular occupant came into view so too did its…unique artwork.

Graffiti lined the walls of a singular building standing alone on its block, vulgar depictions of the blind hatred Naruto has suffered all his life. One stood out amongst the rest, a horrific mural depicting the birth of a foxlike humanoid figure from the abhorrent monstrosity that was its mother all the way to its death at the hands of several dozen painted figures as they danced around its burning corpse with malicious grins.

Seeing the mural came as no shock to the pale eyed girl, it was how all the other vile defacements where positioned as to give the damnable mural a sort of sacredness that, along with the fact that a young Naruto was subjected to such treatment day after day, brought tears to her eyes and bile to her throat as much as any other time she had been here.

Wiping her eyes, the Hyuga bid her guards to stay at the gate and made her way up the rusted and rickety stairs, ignoring the broken windows and fallen glass on her way upwards to the most skyward of the apartments. As she neared the door a loud banging came to her attention and, turning a corner, she saw someone familiar trying to destroy the barrier.

"Naruto open this damn door!" Cried Sakura as she pummeled the old, yet surprisingly resilient, wooden door unaware of the heiress behind her. When no answer came the enraged rosette cocked her arm back as chakra formed around her clenched fist but before the rosette could break the door down she felt her entire arm go dead as a gentle tap on her shoulder forced the arm to fall limp at her side. Whirling around she found the Hyuga heiress standing there with a delicate eyebrow raised in question.

"And what, pray tell, is it that you think you're doing?" She asked as a cold edge entered her tone.

"What am I doing! What the hell are you doing numbing my arm?!" Sakura, dressed in her normal outfit of a burgundy top with white trim and pink battle skirt over a pair of yoga shorts, bellowed at the heiress as she channeled medical-chakra with her good hand to reopen the Tenketsu point, flexing her arm as it did so and glaring at Hinata. Who simply looked unimpressed.

"Merely preventing you from committing a crime, like breaking and entering." She responded with her dull voice causing Sakura to clench her fist and scowl at the other girl.

"How about assault and battery." Sakura advanced on the girl, who cut her down with a look.

"If you wish to know how it feels to have a million volts of electricity sent directly into your ovaries then be my guest." The unblinking stare and the unflinching tone of Hinata's cloaked threat sufficiently cowed the other girl who, though she didn't mind pain, looked forward to a future of motherhood. Seeing the other girl backdown had Hinata curiously tilting her head.

"Not to particularly fond of that idea? How regrettable, it appears the Uchiha will live on after all. Now then if you don't mind I shall attend to my business." She said as she pushed past the green-eyed medic.

"Which is?" She asked, although it was clear the heiress was here for Naruto she wanted to know why.

"Although it isn't any of your business, if you must know I am here to inquire as to why Naruto has been absent as of late." Hinata didn't even look at the girl as she spoke and just proceeded to gently knock upon the door.

"Naruto-kun! It's me, Hinata! Can you please open the door?" Notably Hinata's tone had completely shifted in both weight and bearing as now it was light and sweet whereas before it was heavy and deadly. Even her mannerisms changed so she now just radiated cuteness and tender care instead of the oppressive aura of before.

"Good luck with that, I've been trying for nearly ten minutes to get him to open that freaking door and tell me why the hell he attacked Sasuke." Sakura admitted, her tone notably softer than before yet still irritable as she crossed her arms and lent against the railing. But to her astonishment, and Hinata's amusement, as soon as the words left her mouth and the knocking died down the door swung open with a soft creaking sound to reveal the barest glimpse of the adjoining wall inside and Hinata looked back with smirk.

"Perhaps it is your approach?" Hinata said before pushing through the door and inside the apartment whilst ignoring the lethal glare of the bride-to-be, who soon followed.

" _Perhaps it is your approach."_ Sakura mocked before she steeped past the threshold.

It was the smell that hit them first, a foul musky odor that burned their nostrils and left a bitter taste in their mouths when it forced them to breathe through them and made them gag. To avoid vomiting all over the floor Sakura made a beeline for the nearest window and therefor noticed the second thing, the floor was covered in broken glass and other assorted debris. Once she thrust open the window and gracefully inhaled a breath of fresh air Sakura turned to find Hinata gazing worriedly at the wreckage of Naruto's apartment. The furniture had been bashed against the wall and lay in broken heaps as pieces of them remained imbedded in the drywall, empty bottles broken and whole littered the floor as some left dark stains upon the carpet, fist sized holes dotted the walls and the kitchen was better left unsaid. All in all, it was an utter and complete disaster zone and even though Sakura was furious with Naruto for ruining her engagement party, she couldn't help but worry for her estranged friend.

"What happened here?" She asked, astonished by the shear destruction of the place as she stood next to the window. Looking over, she saw the tell-tale bulging veins that signified the activation of Hinata's Byakugan just before they receded, and the dark-haired girl let out a deep, weary sigh.

"I don't know but…Naruto's not here." With that said, Hinata looked towards her fellow Kunoichi and soon the pair came to an understanding. With the house wrecked and Naruto missing all signs pointed to one conclusion. Naruto had been taken.

The two vanished in a flurry of leaves and lightning.

***][***

Tsunade had been quietly working on deconstructing a growing pile of paperwork when an explosion of electricity and a storm of leaves suddenly appeared in her office. With the honed instincts of a veteran warrior Tsunade ripped her desk off the floor and flung it directly at the disturbance at full strength, so imagine her surprise when the desk suddenly cleaved in two to reveal the outstretched arm of Hinata Hyuga with her two foremost fingers ridged as a board while Sakura stared bewildered.

"How the heck did you do that?!" Her apprentice asked, amazed at the fact that Hinata had just sliced a carved oak desk in two with her fingers. However, she was ignored as the Hyuga straightened from her stance and spoke.

"Naruto's gone.".

"What?!" Tsunade roared in outrage and the Hyuga proceeded to reveal their findings.

"Damn it! Whoever abducted Naruto the first time must have come back for him, Hinata I want you to go find Karin Uzumaki she's an incredibly gifted sensor and will most definitely lend her abilities to help her newly found clanmate." Tsunade deftly wrote out the address on a slip of paper and gave it to Hinata, who wasted no time in vanishing in another bolt of lightning as Tsunade keyed up the intercom.

"Shizune! Naruto's missing you will notify and assist the recon and rescue teams where needed." Without even waiting for a reply Tsunade switched it off.

"What do you need me to do?" Sakura asked, eager to help find her friend despite her annoyance towards him. Without missing a beat Tsunade looked Sakura dead in the eye and said.

"Make sure that dumbass you call a fiancée didn't fuck up."

***][***

Solemn amethyst stared into the steamed glass of a mirror, the dark rings beneath his eyes showed just how little sleep he'd gotten the past few days as his heart tore itself apart. His crimson locks hug lank from his scalp as his arms lay limp by his sides as he stared at his refection.

' _ **You never thought she actually loved you right?"**_ Spoke the reflection as it morphed into an abstract and monstrous version of himself, black and gold eyes as mocking as its sneer. Unbidden, memories of his angel surfaced to the forefront of his mind.

 _Smiling down at him with teary eyes, her weight pressed down on him as they laid on the floor whispering soft words to each other._

 _"I love you..."_

' _ **Quite obvious that was a lie. Remember how she looked, rolling beneath him, her manicured nails leaving gouges in his back as he provided her pleasure, those lips of hers that proclaimed love making the guttural moans of a wanton whore.''**_

"… _will you come by my place tomorrow?"_

"Shut up." The man begged in a quiet little voice which only made the monster grin.

' _ **It's about time you realize that you're not meant to be love. You are a weapon, meant to be used and discarded once peace has been achieved or your edge becomes dulled. Admired for your effectiveness or feared for your destruction? Quite possible, but loved? No. Weapons like you are not loved, only used.'**_ The monster placed his clawed fingers against the glass of the mirror and leaned in close. _ **'All you have is me. That pink bitch never loved you, never appreciated the pains you suffered for her sake. That snake you call friend abandoned you as a child. The little bit of recognition you received was destroyed once you butchered those people at Shodai, and that little stunt with the Uchiha three days ago was the final nail in the coffin. I bet it was when that blonde cunt decided to make her move and help restore his injured pride!'**_

The man looked down into the sink, unable to refute the words of his inner monstrosity he was silent. He still couldn't force himself to forget the pain of what his love had done, no matter how much he followed in Tsunade's steps. The alcohol only helped him sleep, but it didn't dull the pain that the echoing grunts and moans in his mind dredged up as they tore into his soul, staining his memories with vile betrayal.

A gentle strand of unkempt hair fluttered past his eye, its burning red reminding him of the words that allowed for its continued existence.

" _It's_ _a beautiful addition to a beautiful person." His first love said as she held her hand out to the broken boy._

" _She was right you know." His angel said as she pulled away. "It's_ _a beautiful addition to a beautiful person." The man smiled softly and laid his head against her shoulder with a sigh._

" _What would I do without you?" The blonde said nothing, just rested her head atop his as their fingers entwined in their laps and they elapsed into tranquil silence._

The man glared hatefully at his hair, even now he didn't want it. The mere sight of it brought fear and self-loathing crashing down on him and the slightest tug forced him into paralysis. When he first awoke he wished it gone but desire for acceptance and love made him accept it as he did for his angel but now both had abandoned him, used him for their own selfish gains and threw him away at a moment's notice.

The glistening of metal caught his eye and with bitter rage coursing through him he grasps the coolness of the blade.

***][***

Karin Uzumaki enjoyed her new home of Konoha, the people where nice and didn't look curious about what her insides looked like, which is always a plus in her book, and they had accepted her previous rank as an Oto Jonin and allowed her to keep it and even gave her a job in R&D, so she was happy. She was happily enjoying her day off when a loud banging originated from her door.

Opening her inner eye, so to speak, allowed her to sense that it was Hinata at her door and that she was extremely agitated as several dozen other signatures danced along above their heads so, placing down her book, Karin decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Opening the door allowed Karin to see the impatience and worry upon the heiress' porcelain features.

"Do you have Naruto's chakra signature?" Hinata said abruptly, apparently in no mood for idle chatter. Karin looked to the sky and noted the shinobi leaping from rooftop to rooftop in search of something.

"Yes." Karin said slowly as she began to fear for her fellow Uzumaki's safety. "What's this all about?" depending on the answer Karin would be placed in an awkward position. On one hand she had her own ass to worry about, while on the other she could still feel the overpowering warmth of that tainted meadow washing over her and the overwhelming urge to bask in its glory. She wanted to protect herself and Naruto, but feared having to choose between.

"Naruto's missing, and we fear he's been taken by the same people who took him nearly three years ago, so we need your help to find him." Karin felt a wave of relief wash over her even as her anxiety skyrocketed, Naruto was in trouble, but it was a trouble they could both come out of.

With a nod of agreement Karin slipped on her shoes even as she opened her 'inner eye'. With her shoes on, Karin closed her actual eyes to focus. It took a few minutes, but she eventually located a faint echo of that meadow.

"It's faint but I think I found him. He's somewhere in that direction." She said, pointing towards the east side of town away from the clan districts and the slums and they took off running.

As they approached the growing signal, Karin could feel its presence drown out the other signals as the meadow began to appear in her mind. Instead of the brightly light expanse of green and its happy little brooks they meadow was dark, sheathed in shadow the waters of the brook had long since dried up and the various plants withered and died. Fear crept down her spine as a presence appeared over the horizon, a hulking behemoth with skin woven from shadows darker than black and twin pairs of golden eyes that watched her hungrily…

Bam!

Having run into a light pole, Karin found herself back in reality after the glancing blow to her shoulder knocked her off her feet. Picking herself up she looked towards Hinata who stared at her expectantly.

"Where?" She demanded, her tone strict and cold as she was too much in a hurry to care about Karin's little mishap. Instead of being offended, Karin just pointed directly at an apartment building across the street.

Without hesitation Hinata activated her Byakugan to search the building and, a few minutes later, growled in frustration.

"That fucking bitch!"

***][***

Anko Mitarashi was worried. Sitting on her couch and dressed quite conservatively compared to her usual clothes in the classic combo of blue jeans and a white t-shirt, Anko worriedly sent glances towards her bathroom door as her leg bounced due to her nervous energy as her hands fiddled with her hair tie.

For half a year she tried to retrace Naruto's path to find the people that took him, Through the northern jungles of fire country and the searing deserts of wind she searched every rock and crevice for anything only to return home empty handed to find that Naruto had awakened just after she left. It pained her to think about how he woke up, alone and afraid. And now-

The snake mistress was jolted out of her thoughts when a persistent tapping resounded from her doorway. Standing, Anko moved to the door and swung it open to find an angry Hinata Hyuga staring her down whilst an unfamiliar girl with red hair and glasses stood sheepishly behind her.

"May I help you?" She asked smoothly, calm despite the death glare she was receiving from the heiress.

"I know he's here, I just want to know why." Hinata clipped, her tone sharp.

"I don't see how it's any of your business just where he his and why he's there so why don't you shove your pissy little attitude right next to that stick up your ass and fuck off!" Anko went to slam the door in her face but the girls hand shot out and forced it to stay open, granted that Anko wasn't using full strength but it was still pretty impressive for a girl her size.

"I must insist that you answer the question, what have you done to Naruto?" Hinata said unwaveringly as she stared down the older woman, but Anko didn't back down.

"Little girl, I suggest you take your hand off my door and go the fuck on before this gets ugly." She said as her pupils became slits and a black and green snake slithered out of her brassiere to glower at the girls unblinkingly. The sight of the snake and the snakelike features reminded Karin of her former master Orochimaru which had the effect of scaring the daylights out of the girl but Hinata stood her ground in face of the serpent.

"I'm afraid your already ugly, old hag." Hinata's fingers crackled with lightning as Anko bared her fangs and hissed while her snake prepared to strike.

"Go to hell!" Anko yelled before lashing out with a jab.

"After you." Hinata replied as her hand shot forward.

"Enough!" A man's rumbling voice forced the two combatants to freeze mid attack as Anko's fist froze a hair's breadth from Hinata's nose while the heiress' lightning covered fingers halted just before the older woman's lower stomach, even the snake stopped mid leap and dispelled as the three girls looked towards the bathroom to find a dripping Naruto standing before the steaming doorway. His shoulders slumped, his eyes ringed with weariness, and his once glorious mane sheared away with its remains clasped in his hand.

Hinata was the first to react as she darted forward to embrace the half-naked man and Karin took in the sight of his scared flesh for the first time. The puckered crescents of teeth marks on his neck and chest had her reaching for her own marred flesh as phantom pains sliced through her. She could feel the gnashing teeth sink into her bare flesh as rough fingers bruised her skin. Her pulse quickened, and her vision darkened until the loud bang of a door being slammed into her face as Anko closed the door in her face.

Back in the room Hinata embraced the weary form of Naruto as she leads him to a nearby couch. Gone from her mind was the bitter jealousy she felt the moment she activated her Byakugan to see Naruto in Anko's apartment. Instead it was replaced by worry. Worry over how careworn and beaten down her paramour appeared before her all seeing eyes.

Still clutching the remains of his hair Naruto allowed himself to be gently placed into the soft cushions of Anko's couch. With his hair no longer obscuring his face Hinata could see that the terrible blow that had taken his eye continued past where it had once disappeared into his hairline for a few more inches and several small indentions in his earlobes indicated something had once chewed upon them.

As the heiress joined him on the couch Anko disappeared into the bedroom to appear a few moments later to place a blanket around the sole male's sagging shoulders before Hinata finished wrapping it around his girth. Kneeling before him Anko attempted to gently pry open his fingers to take possession of his follicles, but a sharp one-eyed glare gave her pause. Seeing this Naruto relented and thrust the bundle into her hands.

"Don't throw them away." He commanded, his tone different from the usual soft and gentle rumble the heiress was used to. Giving the young man a nod of understanding the Tokubetsu Jonin stood to her feet and disappeared once more into her bedroom.

Once the woman closed her door the Hyuga heiress turned to her friend.

"Naruto." She began in a voice similar to that of a child approaching an injured animal. "Where have you been? Lady Tsunade has half the village looking for you. We've been worried sick." Naruto remained silent for a moment before a bitter smile caressed his mouth.

"Can't have the village's W.M.D trump card running off again, now can we?" His said his tone dry and filled with bitter sarcasm.

"How can you say that, you know as well as I that Tsunade cares for you. And what about Ino, don't you love her?" Hinata had to fight to keep the misery out of her voice as she spoke those vile words. It pained her greatly to admit that her precious person loved someone that wasn't her, but she did so anyway because her own feelings didn't matter when it came to Naruto's happiness. However, to her surprise Naruto gave a cheerless chuckle and curled in on himself as Anko reentered the room carrying a box that she placed before Naruto on the coffee table.

"That's what got me into this mess." He said gruffly, which had Hinata looking to Anko.

"Hey, don't look at me, if you want answers you're going to have to pry them from him just like I did." Anko said as she plopped down on the neighboring recliner.

"What do you mean Naruto?" She asked, looking back towards the Uzumaki. Naruto closed his eye for a moment and took several calming breaths before he reopened them and gave them a hollow smile.

***] the day after the engagement party [***

It was midday when Naruto entered through the gates of the Yamanaka clan grounds. The thick wooden doors lay open behind him as he took in the familiar sight of the many vibrant and varied gardens of the clan. He walked briskly passed the gardeners as they toiled in flowerbeds that hosted flowers both beautiful and horrid, beneficial and lethal. From roses to pelican flower the Yamanaka's love for flora knew no bounds as they toiled tirelessly over the many gardens and parks of their ancestral compound. As he walked he was forced to stop and converse with members of the clan who had called out to him for one reason or another, he didn't mind the conversation nor the interruptions it was just that he was excited to see just what his angel had planned for him.

Once he was able to pull away from the amicable clansmen/women Naruto continued on his way. After barely avoiding colliding with a clansman, nearly blind with his burden of pots stacked within his arms, Naruto, wearing a purple and red compression shirt and matching track suit pants due to having just finished his work out, circled around the main courtyard and entered the main compound where the clan head and his family lived. Looking down the street Naruto could see the main house looming over the other, smaller buildings. Just before the main house he took a sharp left turn and maneuvered around the grand mansion and into the back of it where a smaller house stood tucked between two trees. Two ancient willows stood guard as Naruto jogged up the path and to the stars, mounting them two at a time he landed before the door and pressed a small button near the door before a soft jingle rang through the air.

Naruto waited for five minutes with no answer and was just about to ring the doorbell again when a sharp cry rang through the air. Without thought Naruto dashed around the side of the house, ducking under the willow trees and leaping over the roots to plow through a few flowerbeds in his haste to make it around the house.

Once he arrived under Ino's bedroom window he pumped chakra into the soles of his feet and ran up the side of the house to cling to the window sill in preparation of breaching the house. Just before he leapt through the window his eye landed upon a pair of writhing forms and ice flooded his veins.

A hollow numbness pervaded Naruto's bones as he focused on the room. The carpeted floors where littered with discarded clothing and the heady musk of sex blew out from the open window as the familiar figured copulated on the bed beneath the window.

Long blonde hair fanned out beneath the sweat covered body of Ino Yamanaka as she writhed beneath the flawless form of the pale skinned Sasuke. Her sweat lips gave a chilling moan of pleasure that cut deeply into Naruto's soul as a pair of blood red eyes swirled in triumph while they bore into broken amethyst. Naruto lone eye slowly drooped from where it had widened in shock. A great empty feeling entered him as he saw Ino, _his_ Ino, curl herself deeper into the embrace of another man. Her husky exclamations of pleasure and her devotions to the man swirling inside her. There was no pain in him, not yet. That would come later once he returned to the hollow darkness of his existence, once more alone. Was he ever truly anything but? Was he just some toy, a simple plaything to be used and so easily tossed away once the novelty had worn off? A silent rage enveloped him as the faint laughing of Moryo resounded in his head. He wanted to scream at them, to burst within the room and deliver wrathful retribution. But he didn't. As much as he wanted to deny it, he still loved that succubus and couldn't bear to hurt her even as her every shuddering breath cut even deeper into his soul. So instead Naruto released his grip on the window and allowed himself to drop like a stone to slam into the earth below. The bitter numbness of his soul drowning out the screaming pain of his body as he lay amongst the roses, their wicked thorns tearing into his flesh as he crushed them beneath his weight.

With a hollow heart Naruto rose form his spot and ignored the pain in his body and the voice in his head as he resigned himself, once more, to last place.

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] [*l*] [*l*] [

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 _ **If it's not clear to you what Ino's surprise was then PM me and I'll explain.**_

 _ **W.M.D – Weapon of Mass Destruction.**_


	16. Tainted Eden

] Troubled Past and Darkened Futures [

Naruto closed the door after bidding the Hyuga heiress goodnight and turned to face the darkness of the bedroom with a sigh and prepared for bed. Pulling his sleeveless top over his head he tossed it to the floor carelessly before crawling beneath the sheets of Anko's guestroom bed still wearing his black track pants with the red stripes that Anko had procured for him after she returned to his apartment looking for clothes. Still sitting up in the bed, he reached behind his head to undo the straps for his eyepiece, noting how unusual it was not having to lift his hair up to get to the buckles that kept the accessory secured to his face. Pulling it off he examined the edges and plucked off the pieces of dead skin and other such gunk that accumulated there throughout the day before reaching over to the nightstand and placing the leather and steel piece into a special box that used seals to disinfect the eyepiece.

Placing the box on the nightstand he reached into one of the drawers to pull out a first aid kit. Sitting it on his lap he popped open the case and riffled through it before pulling out a packet his ripped it open to pull out an acholic prep pad which he used to disinfect the area around his eye socket. Placing the dirtied pad into the garbage next to the bed he grabbed some bandages and dressed his eye with a stick-on bandage before cleaning up his mess and returning the kit back to the drawer and laying down beneath the blankets to slowly drift off to sleep.

***][***

Red eyes watched from the darkness with tender fascination as Naruto's breath eventually leveled out into the embrace of sleep before a single graceful leg with skin that shown like diamonds in the pale moonlight stepped out from the portal of night to land soundlessly on the carpet of the room. Soon after a figure followed the pale harbinger and soundlessly slid outward into the world, its crimson eyes watching Naruto's sleeping figure hungrily as thunder rolled in the cloudless sky, almost as if the very land rejected this creature's passing.

The woman's fingers danced along his body as a smile creeped merrily across her rubied lips.

"Naruto." Izanami spoke, her body shuddered due to the boys very presence. Goosebumps appeared on her skin as his scent entered her nose to tease her with his sweet-scented perfume of an ocean during a thunderstorm. His heat, his pulse, his breath, his very existence was enough to send fire coursing through her. She wanted to take him into her arms once more and spirit him away to the kingdom she had prepared for them, to feel his breath once more upon her skin, his taste upon her lips, but it was not to be.

With one last, mournful look at his sleeping face, at how adorable and innocent her prince could be, she scowled momentarily at the realization that he had somehow lost his wonderful mane of hair. Months of tireless cultivation lost at a mere whim.

 _No matter._ She thought, dismissing the sudden urge to open up the boy's intestines and feasting upon them. After he became perfect they would have all the time in the world together, so what was a momentary lapse in judgment compared to that? Hair was easy to regrow, organs, while well within her capabilities, were significantly…less so. Since she couldn't have his screaming waking up the village and ruining her plans, as subtlety was key, she simply decided to wait until later to release her frustration where she could take her sweet, sweet time playing doctor with his tissues and then relish the sweet, lasting rapture of being his sweet, lovingly attentive, and, most importantly, _thorough_ , nurse. She even had the outfit already picked out.

Coming back to her original goal and snapping out of her daydream, Izanami's slender fingers gently curled themselves around the course blankets and carefully pulled them down to reveal the patchwork of scars that marred his flesh. To others the disfiguring patches of skin may appear hideous and damnable deformities but to her, their creator, they where the most beautiful of masterworks.

She-who-Invites took a moment to trace a set of crescents located just beneath his left ear where the muscle connected to the neck. She remembered the night well, the first of many where Queen met King as man and woman in an explosion of passion and delectable pleasure where she marked her man, her mate, in the most primal and intimate of ways. Such happy times they were.

Woefully dragging herself from her memories Izanami turned her focus upon the seal placed upon her loves lower abdomen. Placing her hand upon it she allowed herself to be pulled within the seal.

***][***

The clinking of metal awoke Anko from her fitful sleep. Rising from her bed where she had been tossing and turning for hours wearing a sports bra and boy shorts she spared a glance at the clock beside her bed, 4:23 a.m. With an almost unconscious motion her hand ducked beneath the pillow and withdrew a kunai as she silently slipped out of bed, uncaring of her near nakedness to deal with the potential intruder as she funneled chakra into her brown eyes causing them to become snake like and allowed her to see in the dark.

Pressing herself tightly against the door frame she slowly reached over and, a quiet as possible, turned the knob. Peering out into the, to her, violet tinged hallway with her vision constantly zooming in and out to capture every tiny detail.

Finding nothing out of place Anko silently brought her hands together to form the Ram seal, gathering her chakra to form a barrier around her mind she whispered. "Kai( _Release_ )" and violently expunged the chakra around her mind to shake off any Genjutsu ( _Illusion technique_ ) she may have been placed under. Still finding herself alone in the doorway without any changes to herself or the condo she creeped into the hall.

With her body on high alert she caught the sound of metal clinking together coming from down the hall and made her way towards it. Keeping her head on a swivel she slowly stalked down the hallway in a low crouch as the sound steadily rose in volume.

Nearly fifteen minutes later Anko found herself standing before the slightly ajar door to her basement rec room, listening to the rhythmic clanging of metal coming from the other side. Gently pushing the door open, Anko was duly surprised by what she found.

In a room filled with various exercise equipment, sitting at the bench press with his back pressed against the cushioned rest of the machine, was one Naruto Uzumaki. His bare chest heaving with effort as his arms strained to lift the heavy weighted steel bar away from his body with sweat drenched bandages wrapped around his chest and his prosthetic arm, the spiked remains of his glorious mane clinging to his scalp as single remaining eye glared up at the ceiling Naruto let out one final exhale and settled the heavy bar back into its stand before sitting up and moving to the dumbbells.

Lifting a thirty pounder with his left arm he sat down back down on the bench press and began a set of curls before calling over his shoulder.

"While I enjoy the demonstration of how much you've grown the past seven years, I suggest you go on back to bed. Alone, I'm in no mood for company." He added, not allowing Anko the opening. Nevertheless, the kunoichi found one as she entered the room, somehow or another making the knife vanish as she sidled up behind him, placing one tanned and slender leg before the other and a wicked grin plastered across her face as she mounted the bench and pressed herself against him.

"Big words for a guy staying in my house, using my things, for free." She softly blew into his ear as she pressed her sizable chest against his shoulders and softly squeezed him with her thighs as she whispered huskily in his ear. "Why don't we go up to my room and you can pay me back? Show me just how much _you've_ grown." She said as she slides her hands downward over Naruto's chest and abdomen. Her wicked grin turned predatory when she felt every muscle in Naruto's body tense and expected him to look back at her in red faced horror, just like he used to all those years ago, but was deeply disappointed and surprised when the dumbbell dropped from his hand and he snatched himself out of her embrace before reaching into his gunmetal grey and orange stripped shorts to toss a small, but weighty, frog shaped coin purse at her. The wallet bounced off her abs and fell right between the juncture of her legs.

"There's about seven-hundred and fifty bucks in there, take it and go." He said gesturing at the little frog shaped wallet and then at the door. "leave the frog."

Snapping open the little frog's mouth Anko reached inside and withdrew a handful of one-hundred-dollar bills, a couple rolls of twenties, and some loose change. A quick count revealed a grand total of 791.47. Placing the entire bundle into a single even stack, leaving the change in the purse, she folded them in half and stuffed them into the waistband of her panties.

"You know I was just kidding right? You didn't have to pay me." She said swinging a leg over the bench and standing. "You ain't that ugly."

"Then give me my money." Naruto said while holding out his hand expectantly. With a twinkle in her eye Anko took one slender finger, brought it along her body to the waistband of her boy shorts, and ever so slowly pushed the folded stack deeper and deeper into the depths of her underwear.

"Why don't you come and get it." She said taking a broad stance and thrusting her hips towards him. With grim resolution in his eyes Naruto stepped forward and reached out his hand, but the cold touch of steel made him freeze.

"Now, now mister Uzumaki its not nice to try to get in a girl's panties without buying her dinner first." Anko quipped as she dug the sharp tip into his neck with one hand while the other stretched back to support her.

As the blade punctured his flesh a small rivulet of blood began to collect until a small trickle collected on the blade and despite himself the edges of Naruto's mouth tilted up ever so slightly.

"Just the tip?" He asked, his smirk widening into a light grin.

" _Hmm_." Anko said looking over his face appraisingly, slightly moving it side to side with the fingers and thumb of her free hand. "You are kinda cute, so perhaps…" She trailed off for a moment before her sadistically amused smirk appeared once again on her face.

"If you're a good boy." She said, and Naruto's little grin turned into full blown laughter as the blade retreated.

"You never change, do you Koko?" He asked rhetorically as the purple haired sadist ran her tongue along her kunai. Inwardly, Anko smiled at his usage of her old nickname from him. Outwardly she said.

"Are you calling me predictable?" The kunai glinted dangerously in her hands as she rose an eyebrow. Naruto raised his hands placatively while quietly snickering.

"Only forever playful." He tilted his head thoughtfully for a moment before looking back towards the half-dressed woman. "Like a sadistic kitten on crack." He added pointedly, letting his hands fall to his side.

"Mmmm." Anko sidled up to the younger shinobi and ran her nails across his bare chest. "Want me to purr?"

"Case. In. point." Naruto said as he lightly pushed her off and took a seat on the bench.

"All jokes aside, what are you doing down her? I figured you still be all mopey up in the guestroom or at the very least dead to the world by now." Anko asked, walking over to stand next to where Naruto was seated.

"I was, asleep at least, but I woke up determined not to let this hold me down. This isn't the first time I've been hurt by a female." He said staring at the wall and, despite what he said he could stop himself from saying. "My mother, Sakura, and now Ino. It's only a matter of time before Tsunade and Shizune give up on me as well, Hell, even you did too back in the day." He finished quietly, looking to the side. If he had bothered to look at the violet haired woman he would have seen the hurt in her eyes as she slowly sat next to him, remembering the day.

***] Past [***

"Look, I said I was sorry so why don't you just drop it?!" Anko screamed at the nine year old Naruto who stood at the door to the apartment in tears as he refused to move. He had clothed her, fed her, given her friendship, forced the Hokage to give her a job and a team that had become family to her. It was all she had ever wanted, and now his very association with her was placing that newfound dream in jeopardy.

"No! Not until you tell me what's wrong, what did I do? What ever it is I'm sorry so please, please don't leave me alone again!" Tears streamed down his cheeks, over the twin sets of three pale scars cut into his cheeks during a fox hunt three months ago. An event that enviably led up to Kurenai's violent ultimatum.

' _The demon, or us.' Her friends fierce crimson gaze bored into Anko's browns as the dark haired illusionist laid down the law. The girl's hatred of the boy was legendary, so much so that their other teammate Hana Inuzuka and Sensei Yugao stood to the sidelines unwilling to take a side. Understanding of the girl's pain as they had all lost loved ones to the Kyubi._

"You didn't do anything just…just move already." Anko said, biting down on her lip in order to hide the tears burning her from the inside. Why'd he have to go and make it so difficult and come home early. She had planned to just up and vanish while he was at the academy, but he just had to go and fuck it all up by skipping class. She just couldn't loose her friends after so long being abandoned by the world, she craved the acceptance the group gave her and feared that if she gave it away that she would never feel it again. So why did it have to be this difficult!

"I will not!" Naruto stomped angrily, his emotions running wild as he acted like the child he was instead of the man he tried to be. "I knew something was up last night, so I came back to find you leaving, and I am not moving one _**foot**_ till you give a damn good reason why!"

With her emotions running high and her stress levels rising the seal on Anko's neck, the _**Cursed heaven**_ seal placed there by her former teacher began leaking that vile emotion known as hate into her bloodstream causing Anko's eyes, which had been closed in frustration till she suddenly calmed and slowly opened to reveal glowing purple serpentine eyes.

"Not one foot huh?" Her voice had grown dangerously cold, almost inhuman as her eyes, those of an apex predator, watched the boy from across the room.

So deep into his emotions, Naruto never saw the deadly look in her eyes as cold rage built into her being. An unholy wrath came upon her when he said.

"Not one foot, I won't let you- "A foot suddenly and fiercely plowed into his chest as the much older, more experienced, and more powerful kunoichi stopped him mid-sentence with a kick that knocked the breath out of him and sent him flying back to slam into the guardrail opposite his door.

"You don't have a choice." Anko said to the now prone figure of her one time roommate, a lonely soul who struggled to breath as she knelt beside him and forced him to look into her eyes.

"If you ever come near me again, you're leaving in a body bag." Anko glared into his eyes for a moment, watching as hope faded from his violet gaze until it slumped to the floor beneath the twisted remains of the guardrail as his vision faded to black.

Letting the boys face drop to the floor with a thud, Anko stood up and walked away. Unaware and uncaring of the damage she'd done to such a kind and trusting child.

***] Present [***

"Look…Naruto…I…" Anko began but was cut off when Naruto cut his gaze back to her with a smile.

"I know why now though." He said, startling the guilty woman to silence as she waited for his damnation, his bitterness over such a parting, the betrayal of his kindness for such a petty reason. Many terrible and completely justifiable scenarios of the next few seconds played out in her mind, each worse than the last as she braced herself for whatever came next.

"I snore to loud." Anko blinked, once, twice. Did she here that right?

"What?" She gawked.

"I thought about for a long time and I just couldn't understand what would make you act like that until during the Chunin exams when Sakura conked me over the head, told me I could wake the dead with how loud I was." Naruto clarified with a broad smile, one that never reached his eyes. "So, I understand, I'd be desperate to get away too if I had to deal with it every night for two years." It was then, studying the scarred visage of a man, who, so long ago had given her everything she ever wanted. A home, a family. He knew it wasn't that simple, he knew everything and in spite of that this beautiful, kind, caring…blockhead was extending her an olive branch. Maybe he didn't completely forgive her but…he was willing to try.

"Besides…" Naruto added with a bump to her shoulder with his own, slightly jostling her body as they sat on the bench, making her meet his eye and see the actual smile. A glowing crescent of sunlight beaming at her. "You came back."

Feeling a warmth blossom in her chest, a familiar unfamiliarity that she dealt with as she dealt with everything else in her life.

With a swift kick to his ribs just hard enough to throw him off the machine she swung her leg up and around the bench and laid back underneath the lifting bar.

"What the hell was that for?!" Naruto exclaimed from the floor, glaring furiously up through the legs of the sadist.

"You can't be on the bench with me, you're my spotter. So, get your blind ass over here and load another eighty onto the bar you lightweight." She smirked down at him from between her breast. "When we're done here you're buying me breakfast."

"Does that mean I'm getting my money back?" Naruto said hopefully as he stood from the floor and brushed himself off.

"Not a chance in hell." Anko laughed.

***] Three days ago [***

Ino felt horrible. Her hair was in a mess, her body ached, she was hungover like a motherfucker, and worse of all her house was in a mess. It looked like someone had gone buck wild with a sledgehammer and a whirlwind. She had holes in her walls, floors, and even the ceiling. Clothes where flung everywhere from the foyer to her bedroom…and oh god the bedroom.

The room reeked of some musky animal, her mirror was broken and there was blood on her sheets along with some viscous fluid that looked suspiciously like semen, how in the hell did that even get there? Ino had no idea…well…she had one…

Though her head ached like crazy Ino couldn't help the blush that appeared on her face as she thought about what likely happened last night. Did we…

Guilt ate away at her, why did she…She had to find Naruto. She needed to talk to him, tell him everything. Even if he hated her for the rest of his life he deserved to know.

***] Present [***

Weary hands attended the garden of Ino Yamanaka and a worried heart troubled her mind. It had been three-no-four agonizing days since anyone had seen or heard from her Naru and her efforts to find him had been in vain. Guilt and worry warred across her frazzled mind, so she turned to the only thing that gave her some comfort of peace, her garden. As she repaired the damage to the rose bush beneath her windowsill she couldn't help but wonder what happened, it was almost as if someone had fallen into it and crushed it.

Before she could question it further a sudden, insistent, thunderous banging echoed through the air followed shortly by the ridiculously soft and cheerful tinkle of her doorbell. Standing up from her kneeling position, Ino brushed the dirt off her knees and skirt and went to investigate.

Entering through the back door of her home, recently cleaned and repaired, and left her soil covered gloves on a table next to the door. Walking through the house she could here the pounding continue to throttle her door.

With how her weeks been going so far it didn't take much for Ino to snap.

Throwing open her front door with a bang and a shout of.

"What the hell do-." She was interrupted by a fist embedding itself into her stomach. Doubling over in pain Ino moved right in the path of the upcoming knee that plowed into her jaw and sent her reeling back into a wall.

Like a flash her assailant was upon her and Ino screamed out in agony as searing hot _lightning_ flooded through her body as her Tenketsu (Chakra points) were forcefully shutdown with each precision strike.

Gaining her bearings Ino's mind went into overdrive. Using a trick learned from Naruto she forced her chakra through her sealed Tenketsu and forced them open before she lashed out with a chakra powered punch towards her assailant. As soon as she felt the impact she released the built up chakra around her fist in an explosion of energy that magnified her force to that of a grenade, but it was slapped aside as her opponent redirected the blow towards the wall causing it to explode.

With out missing a beat her opponent stepped into her guard and thrust two fingers underneath her collar bone on the right side, causing the arm to go dead. With the information currently at hand Ino concluded that her attacker was a Hyuga, meaning that a Taijutsu (Hand to hand) match was damn near suicidal.

Using one of the weakest, yet highly versatile, of her clan's techniques Ino sent out a psychic scream that forced her opponent to back off.

Having gained a moment to breath Ino fixed her eyes on her enemy and, to her great shock, found the extremely pissed off pupil-less white eyes of Hinata Hyuga glaring back at her.

"What the hell Hinata?!" Ino screamed whilst pumping glowing green chakra into her dead arm, slowly brining it to life. The opposing heiress shook off the effects of the blonde's Jutsu (Technique) and entered into a graceful stance with one hand stretched out with her index and middle fingers extended while the other hovered next to her cheek with the palm outward and the same two fingers jutting out from her clenched fist.

"You know damn well what this is you whore." Hinata spat as lightning channeled visibly down her finger tips.

"Oh, I know you did not just-." Ino said with both brows rose in surprise but was stopped halfway as her opponent charged her.

Ducking underneath a strike meant for her skull Ino struck out at the side of Hinata's knee, but the heiress back stepped and responded with a spin kick to the ribs that sent Ino flying back.

Slamming feetfirst into a wall allowed the blonde to stick to it and glare down at her opponent.

***][***

It was a beautiful day in the leaf when Sakura Haruno exited her home to head towards Konoha General to begin her shift. Nothing could bring her down, she was finally engaged to the man of her dreams and she and her best friend were better than ever. The only cloud on her otherwise sunny life was Naruto's attitude towards Sasuke but all it would take was time and a good long talk between them to fix that. A talk the newly engaged couple believed would set things to the way they should be, Sasuke and Sakura as man and wife and Naruto as the ever faithful pillar of strength and support that he was always meant to be.

So deep in her plans for the future that she barely noticed the long, rectangular box covered in bright pink wrapping paper and bright orange ribbon placed just beside her door to lean against the frame. Already knowing just who it was from, the ribbon kinda gave it away, Sakura bent over and lifted the object from the ground.

Upon further inspection she discovered a small, handwritten note tucked into the ribbon. Curiously, Sakura, dressed in baby blue hospital scrubs with her hair pinned back in a bun, reached down and plucked the little note free of the ribbon and examined the name written on the front, her name. Written in a very unusual handwriting that made her question her original assumption as to who the giver was. She could easily identify the nearly illegible scrawl that was Naruto's penmanship, but this was fine, elegantly written in ink. The letters flowing together beautifully to form her name.

With her curiosity peaked, Sakura unfolded the letter. Inside was a single, compound word consisting of seven letters, four vowels, three consonants and more depth than the ocean.

Goodbye.

"Goodbye?" With cold dread building in her stomach Sakura ripped open the box to find a crimson bundle nearly a yard long and a fist wide bound in pink ribbon.

The box had barely hit the ground when Sakura vanished down the street.

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 _ **I sincerely apologize for the wait as I had planned for this to be out waaaay sooner than it is. But I contracted the flu and was down for a while and ended up forgetting everything I had planned for this chapter, so I had to reimagine it. Then Life got in the way, that twat, and so here we are! I think this chapter actually turned out pretty well, I certainly hope so had a full month to plan it, so…anyway tell me what you think!**_

 _ **] Read. Enjoy? Review. [**_


	17. Flickering Dawn

***] Flickering Dawn [***

The early morning sunlight rained down upon a solemn figure standing before the threshold of the oldest of the shinobi villages. The early risers of the city paid him no attention as they began their day. The baker at his table kneading the days dough, the tanner opening his vents to allow the fumes of his vats into the atmosphere, and the blacksmith igniting his forge spared not a glance towards the singular man standing like an ant beneath the yawning gates of Konoha to which he was thankful.

Naruto held his eyes closed and enjoyed basking in the sunlight warming his face and body against the morning chill. It had been nearly a year since his return and he was tired. A great many things had happened during the year that honestly had him questioning why he ever bothered to come back. A question he didn't know the answer to in the first place, the fog over his mind left him frustrated as well.

Thinking over the past year left a blackness in his heart, one that ate away at his very being until a hollow hole stood in its place. The edges blackened by the memories of a loving smile and shining blue eyes, ragged from glimpses of stolen moments of pink and black and of red and green. Envy, rage, hatred, and sorrow burrowed deeper and deeper until Naruto was left numb from the effort.

He felt the sun on his face, the warmth and promise of a new day, but he took no pleasure in it. He enjoyed it to be sure, just as he had enjoyed eating garbage after several days of starvation, it filled a need and was comforting but it brought with it no pleasure. It was better than the cold.

Naruto opened his eyes and stared out through the wide-open doors and down the wide path that cut through the forest to lead to parts both known and unknown to him. He was sorely tempted to just step through those gates and disappear, taking the countless twist and branch-offs at random until he vanished beneath the ocean or the darkness of the mountains. He didn't really care which, as long as he was rid of this damnable sea of trees.

But even so, Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that he was running away.

***] earlier [***

"You know." Anko drawled over her coffee. "Your taking this whole mess better than I thought you would."

Naruto looked up from his plate and forced a grin. Despite his earlier words he resented the woman before him. After everything he'd done for her, forcing himself through that vile academy just so the old man would give her a job, feeding her, clothing her, the way he was thanked was a cracked spine and a broken rib cage. He didn't hate her, He hated the fact that she choose them over him. Her so called friends who made her choose between them, he envied the fact that she even had friends. He didn't hate her, he hated the fact that his pain had given her everything she ever wanted. He didn't hate her, he hated the fact that he ever loved her.

"It's better than sitting around moping all day." He said with a porcelain smile, a hollow gesture that non-the less did its job. Years of practice payed off after all. "I'm a grown man. Yes, it still hurts. No, I don't like it. But if I just shut down and let it destroy me then what good am I? I'm not the first guy she's left heartbroken, and I'm probably not the last, but if I let it get to me then she wins." He said, turning back to his meal.

To be honest, he wasn't surprised. There had always been that niggling doubt in the back of his mind, years of women based trauma did that to a man after all. It ate away at his self-esteem, devouring his confidence in himself and those around him until he was convinced that every relationship, intimate or not, ended the same. With the man humiliated and used, just another pawn in the ever violent one-up-man ship of women. That was exactly how he felt, humiliated and used.

Humiliated and used by Sakura. Forced into a catch-22 where his own morals were used against him. If he brought Sasuke back he'd lose any chance he might've had with Sakura, but if he didn't he lose himself and, in the end, that was all he had. She didn't care what happened to him as long as he fulfilled his promise. She didn't care about his pain, fighting tooth and nail for a girl that didn't give a damn about him. She didn't care about him. It was truth, a sad truth, that he had come to realize about the girl. Years of abuse and disregard hadn't instilled that in him, explosive outburst of unwarranted blame and degradation hadn't imparted that wisdom upon him, a lifetime of watching her walk away from him hadn't convinced him of that fact.

It was a single instance. A single moment, frozen in time, when his essence was bleeding out onto the ground, his blood dripping down Sasuke's arm and unto the parched earth. When her eyes, tearful with worry glazed over him like he was just another spot on the ground, that he knew. He was nothing more than dirt to her, useful for nothing more than to be trod upon and forgotten.

Anko smirked and sat her coffee down before placing a hand over his.

"Her loss." She said meaningfully as she watched his eyes. Through out his life Naruto had seen that look on several faces: Sakura's, Ino's, TenTen's but he had never seen that look pointed towards him apart from…

Cornflower blue eyes and a pearled smile flashed before his eyes, forcing him to look away as a flash of agony thundered through his heart. No matter how he presented himself, no matter how used to it he was, it still hurt to know that once again those he'd trusted, those he'd let in, had cast him aside like trash in the breeze.

Considering Anko's eyes he knew it was a lie, she didn't care about him. She had some angle, some grand design to which he was unknowingly apart of. She didn't want him, only use him.

Burning anger sparked in the shattered fragments of his heart, forging the pieces together to form a crust of Iron as his eye hardened into stone. Knowing that a confrontation with the unhinged Jonin would only lead to unnecessary conflict.

Naruto would be forever grateful for the sudden appearance of the Anbu next to their table. The agent known as Neko appeared out of nowhere to drop a sealed file down right in front of Naruto as Anko's hand left his. Naruto glanced up at the Anbu questionably as his more rational side bite down on his aching heart forcing him to calm and shift his attention to the file before him.

"Proposal approved, and all parties notarized, you and your escort will convene at the gate in an hour." With that said, the Anbu quickly vanished leaving the pair in silence as Naruto cracked open the seal on the envelope.

Skimming through its contents Naruto smiled as he did so, it was less of a smile and more a resigned smirk. The kind one would take when a great burden was taken from them at great cost.

"What's that?" She asked the youth as the folder was closed with a silent snap.

"Nothing." He said, placing the manila folder aside careful enough to keep it away from Anko's grasps. "Just a copy of a proposal I sent to the Hokage." He smiled as he moved to finish his meal.

***] present [***

A sudden presence behind him would normally have him whirling around with Rasengan in hand, but the familiarity of the signature staid his hand.

Coming to a stop beside his apprentice Jiraiya the gallant stared off down the road towards the mountains standing strong off into the distance. The pair stood like that for a while, never speaking or moving, just watching the sunlight and the wind playing through the trees in companionable silence.

"It feels like I'm running away." Naruto said at length, the first to break the silence. Jiraiya turned his head just enough to gaze at his student who laughed darkly as he slapped his forehead with his palm. "After everything I've been through, all it takes is a selfish little blonde princess to send me running." He finished, slumping over while still holding his face in his hand.

' _Yeah…they'll do that to yah.'_ The Sannin thought empathetically, thinking of his own history with blonde princesses. Outwardly he said.

"Don't think of it as running away, just gaining distance." Jiraiya advised, bringing his hand up to lay on Naruto's shoulder comfortingly. Dropping his hand from his face, Naruto looked up towards his teacher and snorted.

"You're probably the only guy I know that knows just how it feels huh." He said mirthlessly.

"Well, I have been around the block a few times." Jiraiya chuckled, patting the boys back for good measure before dropping his hand.

"Yeah, Me too." Naruto sighed, dropping his gaze to the ground as his shoulders slumped. "I'm tired Jiraiya. I'm tired of always trying my best and getting slapped back down for the trouble, I'm tired of this damn village spitting in my face and casting me aside, I'm tired of always being second best to that motherfucking Uchiha prick!" He shouted towards the end as he kicked a discarded rock down an alley, showing a spark of the inner turmoil before the fire was doused by the sprinkling of tears in his eyes. "I'm tired of everyone I love turning their back on me." He choked, fighting back the tears of frustration and misery that threatened to water the ground at his feet. Closing his eyes, he sighed once more, shoving his pain back down his throat and clearing away his tears. With them gone Naruto breathed deeply and moved to lean against the wall of the guardhouse.

"I'm just so…damn…tired." He muttered as his back was pressed against the wall before he slowly slid down to the ground.

"So, this is just you looking for a new beginning?" Jiraiya asked as he sat down next to his godson.

"You could say that. In Suna no one knows who or what I am. They don't know about my past as a Jinchuriki, or about what's in its place. No one there hates me for anything I or any body else has done, and I've got a personal invitation from their Kage so why the hell shouldn't I go?" Naruto asked with a wave to the air from the hand on his bent knee. The very same hand now ran through his shortened lochs. "I only stayed for Ino anyway." He said bitterly as his hand fell to the ground. Jiraiya reached out and patted the boys shoulder once more. "Should've kicked her in the twat."

Startled by his godson's words, yet none the less amused, Jiraiya burst out into hysterical laughter.

***][***

When Sakura arrived at the scene the echoing laughter had just faded into memory and Jiraiya fell silent alongside Naruto. It was a tense moment for the two as they watched the rosette making a beeline for the two, or rather the younger of, until Naruto nearly kickstarted another fit of laughter from the aged Sannin.

"Outta kick her too." He huffed as he forced himself to his feet with Jiraiya staying exactly where he was. Somehow, he doubted Naruto would go through with the threat…Hopefully.

Of course, the first thing she did when she laid eyes on the man was…

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?"

Explode.

Naruto looked at her in confusion then at the ground and back at her. "Uh…standing?" He said, knowing full well what this was about but…why the fuck not? At least he'd get a rise out of her and, he begrudgingly admitted, he was glad she cared enough to show up.

"Don't give me that bullshit!" She slammed her palms into his chest, shoving him back against the wall. "I know you're not that stupid. You know damn well what I'm talking about, so what the fuck is wrong with you? And what the hell did you do to yourself?!" She shouted, nose to nose with the boy. It was then, amidst the shouting, amidst the anger, stuck between a bitch and a hard place that Naruto did what he had never done to Sakura before. He retaliated.

All the rage and all the pain from the last few days, from every venom laced word that had ever dripped from her poisoned tongue, from every shred of heartache and misery she'd put him through burst out of him in one epic geyser as his fist shot out from beneath him and slammed into her toned and petite stomach, blasting the air form her lungs before she was flung backwards to the ground.

"What's wrong with me? Why the fuck do you care?!" He roared, standing over her. "You got what you wanted, Sasuke's in the village as we speak and I'm soon to be out of your life. For good if I can help it. So why aren't you off with him fucking like rabbits, or is he sti-." Naruto bit down on his tongue, hard. He didn't know why he didn't want her to know about Sasuke and Ino. Maybe it was so she could know the pain he felt when she eventually caught them, and if she didn't at least he'd know that the man she was _so_ happy with, who _totally_ loved her was banging her best, and admittedly prettier, friend behind her back. The thought was pleasing, but maybe, just maybe, he would bear one last burden for her comfort. For her sake.

Swallowing the blood in his mouth, unaware that the holes had already began to close, he turned back to Jiraiya.

"They're just gonna have to catch up, I'm leaving." He said lifting his pack from the ground next to where he sat with Jiraiya.

He had only taken three steps from the gate when her voice stopped him. And he turned to see her getting to her feet.

"You can't just leave!" She had shouted, causing him to stop. "After five years we were finally together again. You, me, Sasuke, and Kakashi all of us, team seven, together again after so long. I know you and Sasuke have problems but with enough time, together we-."

"That's just it Sakura!" Naruto shouted from the gateway, interrupting her little speech. He dropped his bag once more to the ground and stomped towards her. "There was never any _we_. It was, _Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke._ _Naruto, you Idiot!_ " He mocked in a falsetto of her voice. "The only time I was even in the equation was when one of you wanted something, usually a pack mule or a stepping stool. I tried my damndest to be there for you, he'd smack you down I'd lift you up only to get the shit kicked outta me for my troubles." He was now in her face, his violet eye blazing as Sakura was suddenly aware of just how much bigger he was than her. She had never figured Naruto for a threat but, this wasn't the same Naruto. He was bigger for one, his visible arm corded with muscle as his hitai-ate, tied in silver over the bandages between the shoulder and bicep, strained against his prothesis, some highly advanced, yet delicate, machinery from Snow country. She had seen what that thing could do in the various test and training the medical team had put him through. It paid to have friends in high places, it seemed.

Her anxiety must have shone on her face because his immediately softened as he pulled away.

"You once told me that my hair was a beautiful addition to a beautiful person, I hated the very sight of each and every strand. I fought to breathe every time someone so much as touched it, but I kept it because it was the first thing about me you ever found pleasant. It made you happy, so I was happy…" He trailed off into silence. It was more than just a hair-cut, it symbolized the cutting of past ties. It was meant to be simple, but as he should have learned by now. Love was anything but simple. Even having done so, he couldn't find it in himself to ignore the pain in her eyes as he pulled away and picked up his bag.

"I'm tired of being used."

"What about Ino? I thought you loved her!" Sakura shouted towards his back. Naruto held his head high as he looked towards the horizon, unmoving as he fought against the whirling tide of emotions that erupted at the mention of her name. Fresh wounds upon his battered heart reopened and echoed their writhing misery as the memory of that day replayed in his head as it would forever more at the mention of her name.

"She…she's found someone else." He croaked, His will nearly crumbling in the face of such misery, her moans and grunts still echoed in his skull, rattling around his mind loosening screws as the howling laughter of the demon grew louder and louder. The rising heat in his chest and the billowing breaths pumping his chest like a throbbing wound signaled his weakening grip on reality.

Why couldn't she leave him alone. She had everything she wanted now, once again at the expense of his sanity and wellbeing. Her false god had been returned to her once again, tearing his world apart in his wake and leaving him to once again pick through the shattered remains of his heart to force some semblance of sanctity within his fragile mindset as he was left with nothing once again by those he loved.

Sweat laden sheets and the heady musk of sex wafted past his senses; a ghostly mirage of that moment his angel plunged him once more into his hell of solitude and pain. The memories swallowed him, pulling the light and life from his eyes as he sunk deeper into the swelling tide of darkness bubbling up from within.

He stood numbly before a great gate, its edges thick iron belts that supported the thick bars that caged the swirling tide of abyssal darkness beyond the great expanse of the prison. A figure stepped from the burgeoning darkness that devoured all light and left the cavernous halls of his mind bitterly cold. It was similar to Naruto in every way, the same face, the same nose, the same scar cutting across his face, even the same clothes to the most minute detail. Except…the figure was smiling. It was a smile full of anticipation, desire, and understanding reflected in his eyes as he held out his demonic right hand through the bars invitingly.

"Come…give me your pain."

With his body and soul numb to all emotion, fear, love, jealousy, Naruto reached out to take the wicked hand of his demon, wishing nothing more than to just fade into the inviting dark as his fingers entwined with the vicious talons when he was dragged from the precipice of destruction as an aged hand fell upon his shoulder, its calloused fingers sending comfort and strength into him.

Light entered his eye and Naruto took a shuddering gasp of air as he exited the prison of his mind.

"Naruto." Came the steady voice of Jiraiya, causing the burdened boy to look up at the aged shinobi. The Sannin measured Naruto's eye for a moment and, seeing the uncertainty, the pain, reflecting his own at that age. He saw the boys will fade, threatening to shatter under the immense burden placed upon him by those he trusted. This boy, who had already endured so much pain, was so much like him that Jiraiya felt like he was looking into a mirror. And so, with a calloused and scarred hand reaching towards that distant horizon that divided heaven from earth, he reinforced the boy's mental walls. Giving rods of steel to brace those weathered stone bulwarks of the boy's soul, and together they stood unbowed against the rushing current of darkness and sorrow with the strength of four simple words as Jiraiya's hand reached towards the distance.

"Bring me that horizon."

***][***

 _ **I know its short, but I just couldn't bring myself to continue on past that point, it was just to perfect.**_

 _ **This marks the end of the Return arc, and the beginning of the Horizons arc.**_


	18. Cracking Cages

***] Cracking Cages [***

Obito sighed as he withdrew the black metal rod from the body of the Chunin and let the body fall to the ground. Having to sit through that miserable debacle between that girl and the prince had drug up old, painful memories and it had taken the boys escort nearly an hour to arrive and had proven unable to relieve his frustration. It seemed the shinobi standard had become lax of late. Having grown slothful in their mirage of peace the once feared city of Konoha was now little more than a target waiting to be burned. Once upon a time this information would have greatly pleased the Uchiha ghost, but with Pein dead and Madara's revival all but pointless he was simply…disappointed.

"Remember to leave the corpses where they can be found in the next few days, we can't have any alarms blaring while he's only a day away." He said to Zetsu, the plant man eying the corpses hungrily. For a moment Obito considered letting the plant man eat the pathetic shinobi of his homeland, but then again, if he did that then the state of his former homes military would be the least of his problems.

"Understood." Spoke the black half of Zetsu. The plant like amalgamation was split into two distinct parts right down the middle into Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, the latter being something of a friend to the Uchiha while the former remained an enigma. The White half was the most human looking of the two, with snow white skin covering the rather plain features of a middle-aged man with the only abnormalities being his bleached skin and the pupiless orange eye of his. Black Zetsu however, was nothing like a human at all appearing like a featureless silhouette of a man on the right side of 'their' face with a single orange dot where the eye should be. Albeit strange in and of itself the most striking feature was the flytrap like growth that the creature could bend to its will to open or close the bear trap comparable appendage.

As soon as the being spoke, several thick vines sprouted from it body, hidden beneath the Akatsuki cloak of red clouds on a black sky, and grabbed the corpses of the escort squad before it vanished into the ground. Bringing the bodies with them.

With their task complete, Obito found himself alone. He listened to the wind blowing through the trees for a moment before reaching beneath his obscuring cloak to pull out a single, rectangular object.

It was a weathered photograph depicting a young Obito being forced to look at the camera, the annoyance on his face was palpable as he hated taking the photo but now, many, many painful years later, the photo that had once been a major pain in the ass had become his lifeline.

It wasn't for their teacher Minato, a tall blond standing in the back with a weary smile on his face as he held a tight grip on Obito's cranium. Nor was it the silver haired boy in his other hand wearing a mask of his face and a look of utter boredom beneath Obito's gloved finger, in fact Kakashi had been the entire reason Obito hated the picture in the first place. It was the girl.

Wearing a bright smile, her rich chocolate hair framing her wonderful face, the twin tattoos of violet making her an exotic beauty as she smiled happily into the camera as the first pair of slender fingers of her left and right hands where held up proudly in the shape of a V, the symbol of victory, Rin Nohara.

It was all he had of the girl he loved, the girl he failed. He sorely wished to hear her voice once more, just one last time before he was dragged down to the hell he deserved.

The single, glittering speck of liquid that fell as he removed his mask was quickly swept away before he brought the frozen sun of her smile to his lips and it was once more hidden within the fold of his robes.

Adjusting his mask, Obito looked towards the direction of the village once more before gazing of in the direction of the boy. This time thoughtfully as he pondered the pros and cons of a little detour, seeing as he was now free for a few hours.

***][***

It took everything in Naruto not to turn back around and burn that village to the ground, sorrow had given way to anger and then to rage as his mind dwelled on his life. Everything he'd ever done was never good enough, nothing not a damn thing he did mattered. All those years of being Sakura's punching bag, taking her shit for damn near a decade, and despite it all he couldn't bear to tell her just what Sasuke had done. The thought of seeing the light in her eyes, a light of hope that had been shining since her engagement, fade and die because of him of his own inadequacy to please Ino, to be good enough, pained him beyond words.

This rage had been brewing since the moment she brought up Ino's name, a dark storm of hatred so potent and violent that flecks of gold had appeared in his lonesome eye. Naruto never noticed when the blood appeared on him, only the sound of falling bodies registered in his mind and finally brought reality roaring back to the forefront of his mind.

All around him a lethal vortex of chains had sprung up in a response to a sudden ambush by bandits, causing a rainstorm of crimson to pelt the ground. Something dark inside him reveled in the feeling of the rainstorm as the wind kicked up by the chains pulled at his clothes and whipped his spiked hair around until it was soaked through in blood, its color unchanged as it clung to his scalp. The darkness within shivered as the taste of iron entered his mouth, finding twisted pleasure in its consumption, causing Naruto to find his mouth slightly open with his tongue extended as if catching snowflakes.

Snapping the orifice closed, Naruto did his best to spit out the foul substance staining his tongue but found it impossible without water. As he scrambled to find his canteen, a soft whimper brushed against his ears. Far to his left, was a girl. No older than he, her pale blonde hair was matted with blood and she clutched at her stomach whilst gaping at him in horror from her place on the ground. Her clothes where dirty and ragged, as if it was all she owned.

Taking a swig of water, Naruto rinsed his mouth before violently spewing it back onto the ground and capped the container before moving to assist the girl, figuring the girl was attacked like he was.

"Get away from me you fucking demon!" She screamed, scrambling to gain distance from him. The voice was familiar, along with her use of his fun little nickname, and the girl seemed familiar. As if he'd seen…then it clicked. Inoa, a former Genin of Konoha that went missing years ago on vacation with her family, a former classmate of his and…Ino's cousin.

"Whoa now, calm down." Naruto ignored the demon comment, and her uncanny resemblance to Ino. "Listen Inoa, I'm not going to hurt you so-."

"Lies! All lies." The pure hatred in her eyes, the same shape and shade as Ino's beautiful eyes, were agonizing to see. "Filthy demon, I remember you." She pointed one dirt covered finger accusingly and laughed. "You may now reflect the evil inside you, but I remember you Naruto Uzumaki. Imposter!"

Even her voice reminded him so much of Ino, a voice he'd last heard calling the name of another man, that he was having trouble distinguishing between them. Did she really feel that way? Jutting her filthy digit towards him, cackling at his scarred flesh through rotted yellow teeth, and he could smell her from ten feet away, a scent of sex and disease. She was so entirely different from his angel who was so perfect, her eyes so bright as the sun on the see, her hair as yellow as gold and luminescent as sunlight, as elegant as an ocean breeze, and seductive in every movement and sense of the word. So why…why was she before him in filth covered rags flaunting his every fault and flaw.

She mocked his scars, his body, his appearance, and his mind in that rough cackle that somehow translated to the soft silk of Ino, turning into a jagged and rusty edge that cut into his very being. It was such that Inoa no longer existed, instead Ino stood before him. As beautiful and regal as ever, she mocked him.

"Did you actually believe I loved you? You? A disgusting street rat with no money, and-." Ino's blonde hair tousled as she looked him over. "No looks what so ever. Seriously did you lose a fight with whatever animal your miserable self tried to fuck? Cause we both know a whore wouldn't even have you." She raised a stylish brow in question before that damnable laughter echoed out, so beautiful and damning as the bells of hell. "Apparently not even a dog!"

"Why would you…I-I loved you…" Naruto managed to choked out before the apparition interrupted him.

"Well who wouldn't." Ino said with an arrogant flip of her hair. "I mean look at me, I'm a goddess. You're lucky I let you kiss me. Speaking of which…" The illusion walked up and snatched his canteen from his pack and, using an alcohol patch from his med kit, cleansed the opening before she took a swig and washed her mouth out, dumping out the canteen's contents on the ground when she was through.

Before Naruto could blink, his right hand had found itself clasped tightly around her throat with her legs kicking fruitlessly beneath her as she dangled in the air. Frightened blue eyes stared into the cold violet eye of Naruto, paying witness to the rich veins of gold that suddenly appeared, branching out from the darkness of his pupil. It was…beautiful.

"Anko, Sakura, the orphanage, my parents, and now you. I've been used and abandoned from the moment of my birth, if it wasn't for me the entire fucking village would've been wiped of the goddamn map!" His grip tightened, and Ino's eyes began to bulge as a pressure built from inside her. She was scared, she didn't know what was happening to her, but she couldn't breath and what little air she had was being denied her as her lungs slowly begin to fill and she began to drown. "Every second of every day I was hunted, berated, beaten and scorned by the very people I denied destruction! Tell me, does that seem fair? Is it just to abuse a child for something he had no control over, something that he in no part caused to happen yet in fact caused it to stop? No, yes? Can't answer? Well I'll tell you…HELL FUCKING NO!" He screamed, his voice echoing in the clearing as Ino burst open from the inside. Water collected around her corpse, turning crimson as blood creeped from the body trapped within the floating sphere.

***][***

Far away, on a jutting pier of jagged stone surrounded by water and sand, Izanami giggled and kicked excitedly like a school girl as she watched her love through the water. Her red eyes shone with jubilation as she watched him ruthlessly slaughter the girl she'd placed in his way. One simple illusion on an Akatsuki spy, and an assassination order and she had given Naruto the perfect tool to vent his rage. The activation of his Uzumaki birthright was just a welcome secondary prize.

"You're welcome my love." She giggled.

***][***

Sakura's feet pounded on the packed dirt road, having left as soon as Naruto vanished beneath the trees. She didn't know why she was running, whether it was from the tightness in her chest or the pain filled eyes of the boy she once knew and the man he was now. She didn't know why, but she ran. Long and hard, shoving past various pedestrians to distracted or slow to move out her way.

She needed to find Ino, and tell her what happened, she also needed to understand what exactly had happened to drive Naruto away from the village. She knew about the prejudice held against him, she wasn't stupid. She saw the looks, the sneers, the scars. But Naruto was strong, he always had a smile when she saw him, a joke, a laugh. Even if they weren't the same as they were all those years ago when they where children, his light had dimmed but it was still there despite it all. So, something must have happened to change that, but what?

When her feet finally stilled, she was standing before the wrecked remains of a house. The door had been ripped of its hinges and a soft crying floated on the breeze.

With no clue what was happening, and afraid for her friend, Sakura approached the building cautiously. Her training screaming at her to be careful.

The inside wasn't any better than the outside, in fact it was worse. Broken glass littered the floor and holes dotted the walls, windows had been shattered and the soiled remains of plants and furniture where strewn about the house with the occasional bloody smear splattered here and there. Not enough for a corpse but almost as if someone had busted their lip.

Following the crying, Sakura picked her way through the house. The faint sobbing growing louder and louder until she turned a corner to the living room to find a surprising number of people.

Sitting on one of the few surviving chairs, was Hinata. The heiress was silently contemplative as Ino clung to her mother, sobbing into the woman's chest as Inomi did her best to comfort the heartbroken girl who looked so small and fragile in that moment, so utterly foreign to Sakura's memories of a demanding and confident beauty that was Ino. Both heiresses looked like hell, their clothes ripped and dirty, covered in bruises and for some reason every so often Ino would twitch violently. Something that worried her father immensely as he watched from behind the couch his wife and daughter currently lounged on.

"What happened?" Sakura said worriedly, looking around at all the destruction. Surely hundreds, if not thousands of dollars' worth of repairs where called for. Looking towards the only occupant currently not occupied Sakura asked again. But just as Inoichi opened his mouth a loud wailing interrupted him.

"What does it matter, he's gone and its all my fault!" Ino cried from her place in her mother's arms.

"No, sweetie no. It probably has nothing to do with that, the Hokage must've-." Inomi tried to say, but was cut off as Ino shot up from the woman's chest.

"The Hokage didn't do shit!" Ino screamed, she looked horrible. Her hair was frazzled and limp, the bit of eyeshadow she had was streaked across her bruised face. "She would've only reassigned Naruto if he had given her no choice, especially after what happened the last time. God…I-I'm s-such an idiot!" Ino's outburst dissolved into tears and she buried her face in her hands with a wail. "Everything was perfect, and I…and I…I had to ruin it." She managed to say between hiccups.

Sakura was lost, confusion twisting her face accordingly as she looked on. "Ok I'm confused, what are you talking about? And how'd you know about Naruto?"

"I told them." Sakura nearly leapt from her skin at the sound of Anko's voice coming from behind her. Whirling around she found the trench coated woman leaning against the wall next to a blown-out window.

"And how the hell'd you know?" Sakura said, suddenly defensive. "You weren't at the gate earlier."

"He bought me breakfast of course, it was the least he could do after the night we had. Making me all hot and sweaty." Anger flared in Sakura's chest from the licentious implications, but she had no idea why. Was it because of his relationship with her best friend, or was it something else…something more personal…

"You're not helping." Hinata chimed in, the first she had spoken since Sakura arrived. The heiress stood from her seat elegantly and fixed her eyes on Sakura measuring. "You really have no idea what happened do you."

"He…Naruto, said he was tired of being used." She said, thinking to last words she clearly heard from her estranged friend. Hinata looked towards Anko and the two shared a silent conversation before Anko, with a nod of agreement, pushed off from the wall and went outside, followed closely behind by the Hyuga heiress. Leaving Sakura as confused as before.

Turning to her friend, Sakura slowly approached the girl and sat next to her on the couch. Placing her hand on the girls back she slowly began to push chakra into the girl, her hands began to glow green as she preformed the mystic palm technique, hoping to give the girl some form of comfort, her own could wait.

***][***

Exiting the house, Anko stopped and turned to look at the Hyuga heiress with a raised brow and crossed arms.

"Why didn't you tell her?" She asked, knowing how Hinata felt and admittedly how she herself felt on the matter. The little bitch deserved to know just how it felt to be overlooked and betrayed by the one she loved. Just like Naruto.

"I wanted to." The pale eyed girl admitted with a sigh, placing her hands on her hips while looking at the ground. "But something wasn't right." She said, looking up at Anko with a turn of her head.

"Wasn't right?" Anko uncrossed her arms and shifted her weight to her left foot, placing a hand on her opposing hip. "With what?"

"Ino. After you came in and pulled us apart, admittedly not my finest moment, I noticed a change in Ino's chakra." The veins around the pale eyed girl suddenly sprouted, growing thick and bulging out as the princess activated her families famous Kekkai Genkai (Bloodline limit), the Byakugan. Allowing her to see through solid objects and view the chakra pathways of everyone in a near perfect three-hundred-and-sixty-degree radius. "Its faint, but its still there." She said before deactivating the jutsu, her eyes returning to normal, and focusing on Anko. "There's traces of the nine-tails in her system, faint flickers of red in her normally bluish-green chakra flow."

"The presence of foreign chakra usually indicates unprotected intercourse between two non-related subjects." Anko said, catching on. "Was their any trace of the Uchiha's chakra in her system?"

"Unfortunately." Hinata acknowledged with a wince, if her theory was correct...

"In that case, either she and Naruto had sex sometime around three days ago-." Anko began.

"Naruto said he'd never touched her." Hinata interrupted, firmly reminding the older woman of her paramour's assertions. "Besides the nine-tails is no longer inside him."

"Exactly, that must mean that whomever removed the nine-tails must've-."

"Placed a Genjutsu on Ino." Hinata deduced with a firm nod.

"Getting real tired of you interrupting me." Anko deadpanned.

***][***

Obito closed his eye and looked away as Naruto dropped the bloated cadaver to the ground carelessly and walked away, leaving the brunette to rot in the sun. Placing his mask back over his face Obito transported himself thousands of miles away onto a jutting pier of rock just as the surf crashed against it, sending millions of water droplets flying upward to drizzle upon the rocks.

"Satisfied?" He asked the only other occupant of this lonely peninsula.

"Immensely." Izanami said with an unseen smile, having kept her back to Obito as she stared at the frozen image of Naruto in the tide pool, her slender fingers softly grazing the water. Making soft flowing sounds as they glided over the water. "It was so~ good to hear his voice."

"He's grown."

"Yes, but not nearly enough." She said, lazily running her fingers once more over the mirage before tucking a stray hair behind her ear and standing. Letting the damp skirt of her light blue chemise fall to the ground from where it had bunched in her lap.

If Obito hadn't known better, he would say she looked innocent. Almost girlish with her silken hair falling in waves past the pale skin of her pale shoulders, the dark locks shining in the light as gleaming teeth shone through rubied lips pulled into a smile of simply satisfaction. Exquisitely beautiful couldn't even begin to describe the devil before him. He hated to admit it, but she was almost as beautiful as Rin. Almost.

With one last look at the pool, Izanami dispersed the image before turning to Obito.

"Its only a matter of time."

***] Two weeks later [***

The neutral zone was dotted with several trees as the forest of fire eventually gave way to the windswept desert, small bundles of green against the endless expanse of sand. Sabaku no Temari, (Temari of the Red Sands), was the first to spot the crimson splash of hair against the expanse of desert. As the figure mounted the dunes, Temari remembered the last time she saw the boy all those years ago…

(]*[)

The boy in her arms shifted uncomfortably, whether from the various injuries he had sustained during the battle or because of how unused he was to affection she had no idea. She was grateful, nearly in tears by how wonderful it felt to have her brother back. She was emotional sure, but she was sure she would explode from the urge if she didn't thank the boy for giving her back her baby brother. An insistent tapping on her back forced her awareness.

"Can't breathe. Can't breathe!" Wheezed the little redhead, rapidly patting her back to catch her attention. The normally stoic and confident blonde released her junior and wiped a stray tear from her eye, smiling down at him.

"Thank you." She repeated, clasping her hands before her to stave of the desire to embrace the boy currently laying bandaged on the bed, confusion marring his features.

"For what?" He asked, apparently not having a clue what she was talking about.

"Saving Gaara." She said. "You brought him back."

"Oh, don't mention it. I had to help him, we're the same after all." Naruto said with a charming smile.

(]*[)

At the time Temari had assumed he meant that they both knew the pain of being Jinchuriki but now, As the ragged man stood stalwart over the dunes with scars littering his visible flesh, she wasn't so sure. All the same, as Gaara laid eyes on his best friend he cracked a rare smile.

Stepping forth from the shaded outcrop of their shelter, the Kazekage, (Wind shadow), with open arms came into full view of his friend, who's once bright and hopeful visage was clouded by worry and doubt, with his siblings and advisers, Kankuro and Temari, close behind.

The sandy haired woman noticed how Naruto's countenance changed when he spotted the trio. The clouds of worry and doubt vanished, replaced by a warm, kind smile that was a shadow of its former self. All in all, it was a welcome change compared to the dark brooding of his previous expression.

The current and former Jinchuriki came together in a hug, the pair whispering words of comradery as they embraced. The elder siblings of Gaara stood to the side, watchful and noting every change in their friend.

The boys where unsurprised by the gruesome scars and missing eye, and so was Temari to an extent. Kankuro had been the one to accompany Gaara on his last visit to the leaf as Temari was wary of going due to the current spat between her and Shikamaru, and he had filled her in on Naruto's condition but…to see it in person was…different.

He could've been handsome, that much was obvious through the shape of his face and body. If she was honest he still was, but the numerous deformities that pockmarked his flesh severely detracted from it. But it was his eyes, his eye, that made up for it. From this distance she could just make out the thin veins of molten gold amongst the purple jewel, adding an exotic allure to his already abnormal appearance as it shifted from her brother to her.

"Temari." He greeted calmly, so very much different from his youth of exuberant cheer. As he grew nearer she could see the differenced more clearly. His walk was confident, his mannerisms more controlled and fluid, his voice edged in maturity as he conversed with the members of the Sabaku family. "How have you been?"

"Much better than you by the looks of it." Something flashed in his eye, whether shame, pain, or some combination of the two Temari had no idea. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for." She apologized quickly.

"No, no its fine." He gave her a small smile before looking around. "So." He clapped his hands. "Where's Asuma? I thought he was gonna be here."

"He left early, he was eager to return to his wife." Said Kankuro.

"To impatient to observe simple formalities?" Naruto said, seemingly miffed about it.

"So, it would seem." Came Garaa's blank, gravelly voice.

"Well ain't that just peachy." Naruto huffed before lifting his pack from the ground and turning towards Temari. "Why don't you show me this wonderful Suna Garaa's been rambling on about?"

"Why me?"

"Because your prettier than Kankuro." He said flat out, before he began marching down the road to Suna.

***][***

 _ **Chapter 18, as promised.**_


	19. Memories and Sand

Tender fingers traced across his feverish skin as his weary eye watched on. Glancing upward, the single violet orb considered the serene blues of his companion.

"Your gonna get sick you know." Naruto told her from his side of the bed, cocooned in many layers of thick comforters and sheets as he rode out his first ever case of the flu. The blonde's fingers never stopped their dance across his skin, over the puckered flesh of his side to the faint white crescent patterned lines at his neck.

"Don't care." Ino said lazily as she cuddled into him, enjoying the warmth radiating off of him as they snuggled beneath the blankets.

"You will." Naruto said before quite audibly sucking air through his nose to avoid letting loose a slow stream of mucus leek unto his inamorata's sheets. Not very attractive, but it helped him make his point. Still, Ino just kept idly tracing her fingers across his skin. Only stopping near the layers of bandages on his right arm, which she currently used as a pillow on this cold winters eve.

"Bet you I don't." Ino said with an impish grin before leaning up to kiss him pointedly on the lips, a form of contact the affection starved boy was still coming to grips with. "While hellish at times, learning under Tsunade has its perks. Godly immune system being only one."

"Oh really, what kinda perks are we talking about?" Naruto replied, his voice taking on a rough timbre as he shuffled closer to his girlfriend. Ino eagerly accepted the heightened intimacy as her hands ceased their aimless wandering and reached up to join together behind Naruto's neck. Pulling him down enough to be their lips were but inches apart as his forehead rested against her own.

"Well…I could tell you." She drawled, a playful smile on her lips. "But then I'd have to kill you. State secrets, you understand."

"Oh, it's like that is it." Naruto said with a chuckle and a smile of his own.

"Yeah." She replied, her smile lightly grazing his own in a small kiss.

"At this point, I kinda wish you would." He joked…. slightly. His body felt like it was on fire, his body ached more than usual, and this damnable flu practically murdered his sinuses. Filled to the brim with mucus and such, his head pounded like a damn monkey with a hammer….

Ino kissed her lover one more time, a gentle kiss of love and care rather than passion and lust. Her soft lips caressing his own and, though he couldn't smell it, he could just barely imagine the scent of violets in the air.

…But then again, he could get used to this.

"Better." Ino asked as she pulled away, a soft light in her beautiful eyes.

"No." Naruto deadpanned.

"Well then…we'll just have to up the dosage, now won't we?" She replied in a doctorial tone before leaning in once more.

**][**

Naruto slowly opened his eye to glare up at the rock ceiling he currently slept beneath, the far-gone memory was painful in two ways.

One, the ironically happy memory of his first bout of sickness brought a piercing pain to his heart and instantly fouled whatever cheer he could've possibly managed to scrap up this damnable morning.

And two, that pillowtop full sized mattress with purple sheets was far more comfortable than a damn sleeping bag on jagged ass bedrock that was, despite the name, not meant to sleep on.

Without a word Naruto unzipped his bag from the inside and leaned upwards with a groan. The stiff pain he always felt in the mornings was intensified by the poor sleeping conditions of last night. Today it was his neck and shoulders, the ragged strips of muscle attaching his unwelcome guest to his side flared up in protest to their sudden use as he brought himself to a sitting position as he absently rolled his neck from side to side in an effort to ease the stiffness.

It was without warning, and great surprise, that slender hands pressed themselves into his shoulders and their calloused fingers began kneading the tense muscles. Looking over his shoulder he found a fully dressed Temari calmly massaging his neck and shoulders.

"Morning." He croaked, his voice rough from the pain and sleep.

"Morning." She said, unfazed by his obvious attempt to subtly ask her what she thought she was doing.

Just as Naruto opened his mouth to ask, her fingers dug into one stubborn knot and the pain in his muscles melted away as he gained a stupid look on his face, mouth agape and eyes closed he slumped forward with his elbows on his knees with a pleased. "Oooooh."

Temari continued for a few moments, going down his back as far as politeness allows in gentle but firm presses of her fingers until she was sure the pain was gone. Then she stood up and left, going back to the fire pit for a while as Kankuro sniggered over a plate of food and Gaara quietly ate.

"What was that?" Naruto asked as soon as he gained his senses, gently testing the muscles and finding them loose and painless.

"Its called a massage man, Temari's surprisingly good at 'em." Kankuro said, already dressed in his black morph suit and face paint.

"What do you mean 'surprisingly'?!" Temari barked, picking up a loose stone and flinging it at her brother.

"Just that your normally not all that feminine, case in point. Geeze." He said after the light projectile bounced of his defensive form. "No need to get all defensive about it."

"Kankuro." Said Gaara from the side, causing the older brother to glance at him. "Shut up." He said as his sister made her way back to Naruto.

"Sorry about that, our grandfather wore a prosthesis and I learned by helping him." She said passing a plate to Naruto. "It's kind of a reflex so I apologize if I made you uncomfortable."

"Don't bother, in fact I'm kinda hoping you could point me in the direction of someone who could help me out at a reasonable price. And yes, Kankuro I know what a massage is." He finished towards the painted man near the entrance to their cave, the boy just waved his comment away with his fork.

"Who did it before, if you don't mind me asking." Temari asked, Gaara just silently watching the two converse over breakfast.

"My nurse, more like a babysitter if you ask me, then…" He sighed, his head turned to the left slightly away from Temari before glancing back to her in a rolling motion as he spoke. "My ex."

The dazed look in his eye spoke volumes as Temari wisely chose not to broach the subject, she knew well enough how badly things could be. Hell, her own experiences with romance were lesson enough. The budding relationship she had with Shikamaru gradually faded as the search for the man before her drew on, not that she blamed Naruto of course but their villages efforts to find the missing Jinchuriki forced them apart so long and often that nothing had the chance to grow and they just drifted apart. Other than that, the few boyfriends she had where either put off by her brothers or her station as the daughter of the Kazekage, or wanted something from her.

With a silent understanding the pair settled down to breakfast, each enjoying a simple meal of roasted pork strips, bread, and gravy mixed together to form a sort of stew. While it wasn't the best in the world, it allowed the bunch to fully awaken and gave the sun time to fully rise above the dunes.

***][***

The reaction to Naruto's arrival to the hidden sand was…unusual to say the least. While it wasn't a grand ol affair with a parade and cheering crowds throwing streamers upon him, it was something he was unused to. Various people stared at him in passing, some whispering to each other while they cast curious gazes his way. All the eyes on him Naruto was used to, but the intent behind them was different. The usual malice and hatred was gone, replaced with humble curiosity and pleasant welcome. It was not something Naruto was comfortable with.

Looking towards Gaara who suffered the same, he saw the once psychotic and antisocial pariah talking amicably with a few citizens as they made their way through the town. With a smile on his face the current Kazekage greeted his subjects, happily listening to their minor concerns as easily as breathing. Kankuro had vanished the moment they stepped foot inside the village and Temari walked calmly along a few feet away from Naruto, unaware of the sheer panic and nervousness he felt.

Hate he could deal with, fear he managed, disdain he ignored, but acceptance? Something was up, they were planning something. Hoping to get his guard down with smiles and waves before stabbing him in the back. He had to get out of here. This was a mistake. It's a lie, it always-

A calming hand placing itself on his shoulder, bringing Naruto back to his senses to find that he had stopped dead in the streets. His chest heaving in panicked breaths he looked over to Gaara who stood their reassuringly, offering his own strength through the simple gesture of a hand on his shoulder. Looking around he saw a few people watching him with concern, looking worriedly towards his bandaged right arm and face.

"It's alright Naruto. They don't hate you." Gaara assured, his hand still calmly resting on his friend's shoulder. "They're only curious, I don't believe they've even seen you before so please have some patience. Besides, I told them you were coming."

Just as he said that a sudden weight pressed into his hands, looking down he found a small corked jar.

"Helps with the pain." Came an aged voice from his side. Looking up he found a crooked old man with a wooden arm looking up at him. "Just rub it on the stump and it'll keep it from rubbin yah raw. Deadns nerves too."

"I can't-." Naruto began as he tried to hand back the jar.

"Now there'll be none of that." The old man snapped. "You saved Gaara an' I ain't letn that slide so you take the damn thin with my blessing." He smiled, showing off a surprisingly pristine set of teeth. "It's an old Uzumaki recipe." He added sagely.

"Thank you, Honored grandfather." Said Temari as she appeared behind the elder and began to gently guide him away from the boys. "I'll see to it that he uses it."

"Oh, git off that Honored grandfather crap will you TemTem, you always had the-."

"Jiji!" Temari shouted in horror.

"That's better." The old man nodded in satisfaction as Temari hurried him off with flustered embarrassment while Gaara watch highly bemused. The single moment of familial shenanigans did wonders for Naruto's frayed psyche. His muscles relaxed, his breath slowed, and he no longer needed to draw strength from his friend as he let out a hearty laugh when Temari returned from the shogi table her grandfather now dominated.

"What?!" She said shrilly, still flustered from the embarrassment.

"Kinda curious about what he was going to say, TemTem." He chuckled. Temari flared brightly, steam could be said to be coming from her head as she reached for her massive iron war fan.

Swinging the large hunk of metal effortlessly overhead, the nineteen-year-old brought down the fan with incredible force so that when it slammed down to brain the laughing Uzumaki winds kicked up in its wake.

It was a fruitless effort however, as the still mirthful teen had stopped the fifty-pound weapon dead in its tracks using his bandaged right arm, causing several amazed gasps from the surrounding spectators.

With a smile on his face for what felt like in forever, Naruto gently dropped the still unopened fan allowing its tip to thump into the sand at their feet while Temari glared at him.

"Pretty good reflexes you got there." She said evenly, a dangerous tone given the situation.

"You could say that." Naruto said, bringing the arm around in circles to relieve a bit of the pain that had sprung back up in the shoulder joint. "Don't suppose you could point me in that direction, now could you? You hit pretty hard." He said with a wince.

Temari's glare softened as she lifted her fan from the sand and placed once more on her back. She felt a twinge of guilt for taking a swing at Naruto, a small little flicker but still.

"Yeah, come on." She said, turning down a nearby street and Naruto followed, still massaging his right shoulder.

As they walked they came upon a structure. It was made of the same sandstone as the rest of the city, but this building was different. At the very summit of the building was a vertical pillar of wood sunk into the stone with a pair of planks nailed front and back to the post about two thirds up from the bottom. Out front was a man in black robes with a white collar calmly sweeping the steps of the building with the doors wide open. Here and there a few people entered the building, exchanging greetings with the middle-aged man as they went inside.

"What's that?" Naruto asked, pointing towards the building.

Temari absently looked over her shoulder to see where he was pointing. "Oh, that's the church."

"Church?" Naruto asked, coming to a stop in confusion.

"Yeah, kinda like a temple but not for any gods you'd know. The old man out front, that's father Michael. He and a few others showed up a few years ago preaching salvation, got quite a few converts here in Suna." She said off-handedly as she started walking away.

If she had cared to look she would have seen the far-off look enter Naruto's eyes as he stared at the church.

"Salvation huh." He mumbled before slowly turning away to follow Temari.

***][***

Ino stared listlessly at the bare plaster of her wall, painted white it was one of the few places she could look where she wasn't reminded of…him. Though not everything, most of what she owned possessed some form of that damnable color purple. Ino never thought that she'd ever have a problem with her favorite color but every speck and shade of it brought back rather…painful memories.

She understood why he left, hell she would've too if, after everything he'd done for her. Protecting her, trusting her, loving her for nothing more than her smile, she had spat in his face. Tough she never meant to do it, she had ripped apart everything he'd done for her in one selfish act. And now she was all alone, wasting away while staring at a wall.

It was an effort in futility, every thought she had was of him, every breath was spent praying that he was safe, and every tear begged his forgiveness. She missed him, she never knew just how much he affected her life. Those quiet little moments in time where he would just fade off into the distance, almost as if he was on the cusp of a memory, really put into perspective just how precious were the little smiles he always sent her way. The tiny faceted jewels of his teeth sparkled with a warmth that filled her with happiness and assured her of his love. Yet now.

Now it was gone. All because she couldn't control herself. She…she just thought it would bring them closer together.

In her hands was a box, she had long discarded the purple wrapping and the handwritten note was placed lovingly within her range of vision taped to the wall as the center point of her vision. The bright orange ribbon felt like a noose as she wrapped it around her neck, its smooth fabric dug into her skin, but she didn't care. She ignored the pain, the slight restriction of her breath as she absently caressed the gentle strands of the bundle in her lap.

She knew it was pathetic, but she didn't care that she hasn't left her house in days or slept for that matter. Every time she closed her eyes flashes of crimson eyes mocked her from the darkness. She didn't know why, Naruto had lovely amethyst purple eyes not the baleful red that oozed malicious excitement as a great weight pressed into her chest, holding her down as she writhed in pain until she woke with her body heaving in sickness as she violently vomited what little food she could choke down onto the floor.

It had only taken her twice to figure out that she wasn't going to be sleeping anytime soon but…this simple bundle of hair. This armlength cord wrapped in blue ribbon was the only thing that gave her comfort as she stared blankly towards the shaky scrawl that was Naruto's final words to her.

 _I loved you._

She loved him too, she could barely eat with him gone. She couldn't sleep without clinging helplessly to his hair, the many follicles tickling her nose as she hopelessly drowned in his scent. She wished that night had never happened, she wished she could hold him again, she just…wanted to hear his voice again.

A sharp knock resounded through the dimly lit room, calling her out of her misery. At first, she ignored it, it wasn't anyone she wanted to see anyway. But then it came again, and again. Each time growing in urgency and annoyance until it eventually forced the blonde to drag herself out of bed, letting the to large shirt she wore drape down to cover her bare thighs as she went to the door.

As she opened the door dark eyes where slowly revealed to her as Sasuke smirked from beyond the door.

Her first reaction was to slam the door in his face, his eyes sickened her, and her skin crawled in revulsion. But as the wooden barrier came crashing down, a slender yet strong hand caught it midflight as its owner forced herself through.

"Geeze Ino, we came to check on you and you slam the door in our face." Sakura said as she pushed open the door. Ino hadn't seen her behind her fiancée when she opened the door but, Sakura seemed unperturbed and instead greeted her friend with a hug.

"Come on Ino get dressed." Sakura said as she pulled away from the one-sided hug with a smile. "We're going out."

"Good for you." Ino said as she began to push Sakura out the door, but the stubborn girl dug in her heels and the blonde, malnourished and sleep deprived as she was, couldn't make her budge.

"I'm sorry I seem to have misspoke, I meant to say. Get your ass dressed I'm dragging you out of this house kicking and screaming."

"No." Ino croaked, her once lovely lips cracked and her throat dry.

"You can't stay locked up in here forever, It's not worth it." Sakura said.

"He never was worth much to you was he." Ino grumble, her slumped shoulders taking straitening slightly, taking on some semblance of life again.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Sakura shouted angrily. Feeling her blood begin to stir Ino reached around Sakura and slammed the door with surprising force just as Sasuke tried to creep into the room.

"You are not coming in here you prick!" Ino roared, her blood pumping in her veins once more. Picking up speed from the slow lethargic state it had been in. It felt good, life returned to her body and fire sparked in her eyes.

"Look Ino, I'm worried about you. You've been stuck in here for days, you barely eat, I doubt you sleep, whatever happened is eating you up inside and I understand." Sakura ignored the slight towards her fiancé and continued talking to her friend, taking her by the shoulders and leading her towards the bed.

"I know what it's like. That hollow ache, never knowing what to do, always wondering what you did wrong and how it could be different. Ino I know." She sat them down on the bed and looked her friend in her eyes as the fire faded from them. "Because that was how it was when Sasuke left and when Naruto vanished, I was miserable. You saw me, I was exactly like you. Moping around, doing the bare minimum to get by like some damn zombie. You saved me. You held me together when I couldn't even stand, you're my best friend Ino so just let me help you. Please." Sakura had tears in her eyes as she held Ino's hands, begging her to accept her help.

"Why's Sasuke here?" Ino said blankly. Though she was on the precipice of acceptance, she couldn't get that bastards smirk out her mind. It was creepy, almost like he knew something she didn't and was enjoying the fact.

"It was his idea. He's not that bad of a guy once you get to know him, he's really quite sweet. I know you guys don't get along but please, please give him a chance!" Sakura begged once more.

"Fine." Ino sighed heavily. What was the worst that could happen?


	20. Horizons pt3

*[Horizons pt.3]*

"And here we are." Temari said with a grandiose wave of her hand towards the building in the middle of the district. The simple little building looked more like a house than a massage parlor, even having small little windchimes hung about here and there which Naruto thought would be considered unprofessional. All in all, Naruto wasn't getting the five-star vibe from the place. It wasn't that he didn't trust Temari, he just didn't know how and where to apply it yet. For example, he could trust Jiraiya to gather reliable intel or seal a massive chakra beast away inside him. But Naruto wouldn't leave him alone with a woman, he already had bad enough luck with them as it was. Didn't seem to matter who it was, or what he did he was just never good enough. Always last place, he was sure it wouldn't take much prodding for someone like Jiraiya to-

A sudden bump jostled him out of his thoughts and Naruto looked over to see Temari eyeing him expectantly.

"It's…not what I expected." Naruto said carefully. Truthfully Naruto didn't know what to expect, having only been in a massage parlor rarely during his life with the majority being the few Jiraiya had frequented which had ranged from dingy little shacks to gaudy mansions that doubled as brothels. Which explained a lot.

"I know it's not some BS business, but trust me the lady here knows her stuff." Temari assured the man before waving him inside. "I'll see you in about an hour." She said as she walked off.

"Where're you going?" Naruto questioned as he looked after her.

"I'm just gonna hang about while you're getting treated, don't need two chicks in there do yah?" Temari said waving him off over her shoulder.

Naruto watched her thoughtfully as he left, Temari was different than what he was used to. She was more mature than any other female in his life, though that could be attributed by her tough upbringing, Sakura and…her…didn't have a murderous younger brother what with them being the only child after all. She wasn't as uptight as Sakura or as loose as…her.

Loose. Loosely natured, loosely morald? Yes, that would explain…a lot. Everything she did and why she was with him was…

Before his mind went down once again into that deprecating spiral of self-hatred and impotent rage, a passerby suddenly plowed into him on accident. Reminding Naruto that he was indeed in the middle of the street, inadvertently pulling him from his thoughts. Shaking his head free of the residual negativity Naruto walked over to the awning covered door and pushed his way inside.

It was cooler than he'd imagined, A refreshing change from the dry heat outside in the streets of Suna. It felt like a shaded tree on a summers day a little after twelve, just perfect. So perfect in fact that the receptionist had dozed off in his chair, mouth agape and drooling all over the desk.

It was surprisingly effective at abating his melancholy, as Naruto gave out a burst of laugher that began as a sputter. Bringing his hand up to cover his mouth, he was again surprised when his outburst didn't even faze the young man who kept snoring away atop a reception book. The noise did attract someone however, as a curtained off doorway to the right was pushed aside and a curious head poked itself out.

The gaze of a woman, looking about in her late-twenties to early thirties, was innocently curious until it settled on the sleeping man then it turned into a frustrated scowl. Bursting through the curtains, the woman approached the desk and swiftly swatted the guy on the back of head, jolting him awake. This was apparently common, as neither said anything as the man looked up sheepishly towards the older woman who spoke volumes with her dark, chocolate colored eyes.

Finally, she turned her attention to the new comer and gave a welcoming smile, bringing faint lines to her tattooed cheeks.

"I guess you're Naruto." She said pleasantly, confusing the teen and raising his guard.

"Yeah." He said slowly, shifting to grip the wooden door in his right hand. Confident he could tear it off its hinges if need be. "How'd you know?"

"Oh, let's just say a little birdy told me you'd be stopping by." The woman said, pointedly brushing off the odd pile of sand on the otherwise clean desk onto the floor. "Not many redheads here after all." She said, graciously avoiding how she actually identified him.

"Ah." Naruto said, releasing the door knowing full well what she had done, and he was thankful. Though time and therapy had eased his burdens of self-image and what not, much progress had been lost due to the events of recent days. He never was handsome.

With the door now closed, placing a barrier between the comfortable chill of the room and the summer heat, Naruto made his way to the counter.

"Guess I have an appointment already." He said, stopping next to the desk and the receptionist, who idly sorted through papers and files.

"As a matter of fact, you do, follow me and we'll get started." The woman, dressed in a simple dressed of dark color cinched at the waist with a large strip of white cloth, turned around and walked back through the curtain. A moment later her brown head poked through again and said. "I'm Obiko by the way." Before ducking back inside.

Following after her Naruto entered into a small hallway with various doors closed on either side with the exception of one where Obiko stood next to it, her hands clasped patiently before her lap.

"Now, tell me where it hurts."

"*"

A pearlescent pair of eyes silently watched on as she herself enjoyed a cup of tea, this time in a moderately crowded café at noon. Dressed in a simple white blouse and jeans she quietly observed the table at the far end of the shop. It was coincidental that she came here, a simple desire for tea without all the ceremony of her home where she herself could relax and enjoy being served the tea instead. However, she found herself stiff as a board and glaring at the trio occupying the table. A head of pink, blonde, and black stuck out from the crowd as a nail through a window. Based on the composition of the group, the pink head staying close to the rather bland black of her companion while the blond kept a polite distance from the two while staying at the same table, coupled with the fact that there was only _one_ pink haired _idiot_ in existence. It was a safe assumption that she was looking at Sakura, Sasuke, and, based on the hairstyle, Ino.

At first, she had been ready to electrocute all of them but, as it was once said. Tis better to look before you leap. She saw the looks, the concerned gaze of the rosette as the blonde shied away from any such contact with Sasuke until she became far closer to her than to him. She saw the confusion Ino had once she moved closer, she had no idea why she felt that way. Hinata figured it was instinctual, a subliminal reaction to what actually happened that night. Whatever it was, Ino didn't like it. Whatever world and lies her mind believed in didn't hide the truth her body knew. What's more, with the help of her second sight, she could see the slight bruising around Sakura's body. Bruising that was quite odd for a doctor.

None the less, Sakura could choke for all she cared. It was Ino who was her concern. _Why was she here? With them of all people!_ Hinata wondered. There was a slight tremor to the Uchiha's chakra, he was frustrated. About what Hinata didn't exactly know but she guessed it had something to do with Ino's chilled demeanor. She conversed freely with Sakura, albeit lacking warmth as well, but when it came to Sasuke she was frigid and Hinata could tell Ino had no idea why.

Then came Anko.

Appearing from the shadows to drape her arms around them, it had taken the sadist under five minutes to send the group hustling for the door before she swaggered over to Hinata and sat down.

"What did you do?" The heiress said, knowing that the woman doesn't do things for no reason.

"Nothing." Anko said innocently as she waived down a waiter, ignoring Hinata's glare as she did so.

"Mitarashi." Said Hinata.

"Yes?" Anko said, her brow raised and her pronunciation slow.

"What did you do." Hinata demanded, her soft tones hiding her threat as a dagger to silk as electricity arced subtly between her fingers.

"Oh, relax!" Anko chided. "I just placed a snake on the trio as trackers so to speak, I'll know the when and how on all of them and they're none the wiser."

"And how exactly does one miss a cobra?" Hinata said.

"Easy, hide it." Anko retorted.

"And where exactly…oh dear god!" Hinata exclaimed as her pale eyes widened in horror.

"Now calm down, I ain't as bad as you think." Anko reassured the panicked girl. "Watch."

Surreptitiously, Anko summoned a small chicken snake about a foot long and tapped a passing waiter. The snake slithered down her arm quick as the wind and dove beneath the waiter's skin, a faint tattoo appearing just above his collar on the back of his neck.

"See!" Anko gestured at the waiter, who never noticed a thing. "Quick, painless, and effective I can now know his exact location the world over along with several other unique benefits." She finished with a grin.

"Exactly how many have you branded like that?" Said Hinata.

"47, guess how many of them are still alive."

"Knowing you, with the obvious exception of the four I know about, I'll say none of them."

"You would be wrong." Anko said, taking her tea from the very same waiter she branded, who then made his way to the kitchen.

"How many then?"

"Five." Anko said before taking a sip of her chamomile tea, a sudden crash followed by a scream echoed through the café. "Now four." She said.

"And the first?" Hinata said, following the math.

Anko just smiled.

"*"

Naruto stepped out into the tense heat feeling better than he had in a long time, Obiko didn't seem like much but the woman was good with her hands, speaking of which as he stepped out Naruto came to see Temari patiently leaning against the wall bouncing a piece of metal in her hand.

"I admit it, she's good." Naruto said while still rotating his remarkably pain-free arm, bringing the girls attention to him and she pushed off the wall.

"And you doubted me." Temari teased with a playful grin, still fiddling with the small object in her hands.

"pfft, not even for a second." Naruto said unconvincingly, as he turned his head to look down the street and away from Temari.

"uh huh, yeah right." Temari said before tossing the small item at Naruto as soon as he looked back. Naruto's left hand shot out and caught it in a closed fist before looking at it.

"Whoa what's this." He exclaimed, eyeing the little brass key.

"The key to the place your gonna be staying of course." Temari said matter-of-factly, looking at Naruto who was confused.

"I thought I'd be staying at the barracks, I came here to lead them after all." He said, looking up befuddled at Temari who laughed.

"Don't be stupid, a Konoha Jonin is handling that. Your just here as insurance, now come on commander dingdong I'll show you to your rooms." She mocked before walking away, and Naruto begrudgingly followed.

"*"

Across the world and an ocean Izanami enjoyed a clear and comfortable afternoon. It was one of the days she loved, sitting on her veranda in heels and slacks with her hair gently rustling in the breeze blown in from the ocean, carrying the fresh spray directly from the sea beneath her as it crashed insistently against the shore. A simple cup of tea and a good book, propped up on the backs of several others she had long forgotten, completed her afternoon as she enjoyed her leisure. The length of one supple leg, covered in rich grey fabric, was curled around and over the thigh of the other as she sat crookedly in the white wicker chair placed before a glass table that rose to arm height and held her book whilst her left hand absently held her teacup in the air next to her head. With her left otherwise occupied the woman twirled an object in her fingers as one would do a necklace, spinning it clockwise allowing the weight on the end to bring it around till the length of chain attached to it ran out and then it was spun once again in the other direction whilst pinched between the iron peaks of her two fingers.

Izanami was rather pleased with herself as she took a sip from the ceramic cup, her rich colored lips leaving the rim unstained as it pulled away. Not only had she managed to wrench her once and future king out from the grasp of that poisoned shit hole, she had sparked the awakening of something…breathtaking. Sure, it wouldn't happen overnight, the fun would have to wait. Festering in his young mind until something…snapped. It would be delightful if, and if she had anything it was the luxury of time. And money.

"My lady." Ah, speaking of which. Izanami turned, looking over her sunglasses at the girl who appeared.

"Yes Tayuya." Izanami said calmly, and rather amicably as she stopped spinning the pendant. She was in a fine mood after all and if the former sound Nin was here, it could only be good news. Though the little redhead wasn't exactly the one she _wanted_ waltzing through her rooms, she usually gave her a pass. She was rather useful after all, and… _very_ flexible…

Professionally of course.

"The Elders wish to see you." She said.

"Ah, wonderful." Izanami smiled, snapping her book closed with an ethereal hand and placing both objects occupying her hands unto the table and left. Leaving behind a single sun colored strand to fall from her blouse and flitter through the air to gracefully stretch across a golden follicled and violet eyed fox.

"*"

 _ **I'm sorry for the wait, been going through some things and I also apologize for the shortness of the chapter.**_


	21. Charred Wood and Black thoughts

Temari watched in abject curiosity as Naruto flitted about his new room, gathering a few small bowls and other things out of a leather bag pulled from a scroll kept on his person. The room itself wasn't all that remarkable, a chair and desk, a bed, an outward window, a wardrobe and closet to store anything that couldn't be fit in the dresser or onto the nightstand. The only thing even remotely special about this room in particular was that it had been built into the Kage mansion, where both Temari and her siblings had lived for most of their lives.

Temari herself had followed Naruto up to lend him a hand in unpacking his things, and perhaps act as a sort of customs agent as they shifted through his things. But to Temari's benign curiosity, the disfigured shinobi hadn't taken but a second to breathe in the smell of the room, releasing the breath in a hearty sigh, before he had started dashing about the room sending things flying everywhere. Shifting the furniture around and clearing the bed away from the wall and placing anything not nailed down into the hallway or on the few shelves in the room.

It was the moment when Naruto had knelt-down between the bed and the dresser as he uncorked a strange looking tube that Temari's curiosity got the best of her.

"What are you doing?" Temari said, her voice ringing into Naruto's right ear as she leaned down to look over the boy's shoulder. Causing Naruto to pause while dumping the contents of the tube into his palm and look up over his right shoulder before realizing his mistake and twisting back around the other way to face her full on. This allowed the blonde to see that inside the tube was a short black wand about fourteen or so centimeters long and a full centimeter thick at its base before it tapered down into a dull point.

"Nothing." He said innocently, looking up at her with all the guile of a well-mannered, unknowing child.

"Then what's that in your hand?" Temari said, feeling like a tempered mother. Naruto looked down to his hands and gasped knowingly.

"Ah, you mean this!" He said, holding up the still open vial for Temari's to inspect. "This is a little something Jiraiya taught me a few years ago. Watch!" He said, and before Temari could stop him, he had retrieved the wand and had pressed it against the wall and, with a few flicks of the wrist, had completed a three-pointed seal in charcoal right on the freshly painted, clean wall.

"Naruto, what the Hell?!" Temari screamed when she realized he'd just scribbled all over the wall like a toddler. Just as she was about to lash out at him for his stupidity, she was silenced by a single upturned finger.

"Hold on, let me finish the matrix." Surprised by the confidence in his voice, Temari's jaw snapped shut and she watched in growing awe as Naruto added to the original mark, slowly rising from the floor to his feet as the various connecting sigils grew and grew towards the ceiling and outwards behind the dresser and the bed. Naruto's whole continence had changed, it was like the world faded away and all that was left was the indecipherable scrawl that grew with every twist and flick of his hand, he only paused once he reached his feet to look back at the girl.

"Go to the bed and get me the vial marked purple from the bag, if you please?" He asked, or commanded, the mesmerized woman who snapped to attention at the sound of his voice and rushed to the nearby bed. Lifting the satchel's upper fold, Temari saw several similar vials with all marked in various colors from green to black by strips of colored tape, some with two or more different colors on the glassware. She also saw several packs of rectangular papers and writing instruments from quills to brushes placed in pockets around the inside of the brown leather bag, and beneath the frame racks holding the tubes she saw several jars of a black liquid she figured was ink.

"Temari, it's a singular tube marked with a purple sticker near the middle of the bag. It shouldn't be hard to find so please hurry." With his gentle chastisement out of the way, Temari quickly found the aforementioned tube and quickly returned to Naruto.

"Here." She said as she handed Naruto the vial before he handed her another, this one with an orange sticker.

"Thank you, hold this and go get me the yellow one." He said, unstopping the purple vial as she left to the bag.

This pattern continued on, Naruto would switch out one vial for another and then continue to draw along the wall as Temari rushed back and forth between him and the bag. Sometimes he'd just trade her a vial or move to a separate wall until all four where covered with those strange markings and sigils, some of which Temari vaguely recognized from her time in the academy, others where gibberish to her untrained mind. After the walls where done, then came the ceiling, with Naruto clinging to the surface in defiance of gravity with chakra, and after was the floor and the door.

After what felt like hours, Naruto finished his last seal with a flourish. Placing his current wand back into its tube and sealing it off, Naruto rose from the floor with several painfully audible pops and groans. After handing the tube back to Temari, he spent a few minutes twisting this way and that causing Temari, who had carefully danced around the room amidst the blank spots on the floor that had grown few and far between as the hours rolled by just so she wouldn't mess up his delicate workings, to cringe with every sudden crack before he just brazenly trod across the floor, right over the many intricate and time costly runes and sigils without leaving so much as a scratch or scuff, much to Tamari's ire, to plop down right in the middle of it all in the rooms single chair.

"Whoo, glad that's over." He said, relaxing his body and closing his eye as his arms hung limply to the floor and his legs sprawled out over the ground.

"Would you mind telling what all this even is?" Temari said gesturing around. "And why the hell'd you drew it all over the fucking room?!"

"Huh?" Naruto's head tilted down just enough to let his lone eye catch sight of her over its bottom lid before it shifted across the room a moment before it widened a bit. "Oh right." He said, as if he'd forgotten something, before his left arm rose slowly to the air, far above his head towards the ceiling, where, with a snap of his fingers, everything. From the runes on the walls to the sigils on the bedpost, vanished without a trace as his hand fell back to overhang from the chair, leaving naught but a clean room and a shocked Temari.

"That takes care of that." He muttered, closing his eye again and letting his head fall back. "As to what those were, take a wild guess. I'll give you a hint!" He exclaimed as his right rose to the ceiling, jerking upwards with a raised finger. "They're seals." He mumbled, and the hand shot back limply to the floor.

"Seals." Temari repeated.

"Damn, thought it'd be harder than that." He muttered sarcastically.

"And just where did you learn Fuinjutsu?" Temari asked, the last time she had seen the boy he could barely multiply how in the hell…

"Three years with a master, that's how." He said, his words a breathy sigh. "And believe me, it was a pain. in. the. ass." He punctuated. "Worth it though, no matter what anybody says about him, Jiraiya is a wonderful teacher." At that Temari let out a low whistle of astonishment.

"Now wonder your so good, being taught by a sage and all. Ok, I get the seals but what the hell are these things?" She said, holding up a vial. "I thought you needed ink and paper to create seals."

"You do, at least for most practical applications. But, just as a sword is a horrible tool for wood chopping, so to is a brush for applying seals to vertical objects." Naruto said, resituating himself in the chair so that he was sitting up properly. "You see, if you use a brush on say, a wall, then the ink will of course run and smear everywhere because gravity reacts faster than the material of the wall can absorb the ink but, with that." He pointed to the vial in Temari's hand. "That problem is averted."

"ok, but what is it though?" She asked, shaking the vial pointedly.

"A trick, devised by the best seal masters in the world, the Uzumaki. Hand me my bag please." He said and continued once his companion passed the soft leather satchel to him after he pulled out a small, bare white twig from a pocket on the side. "Take a twig, clean it bare, soak inside a sealed container of seal-ink for a month and two days, then burn it till its char. Afterwards, you got yourself a perfectly able, ready to use Chakra-coal for Charred Twig seals."

"Well color me impressed." Temari said with an appreciative gleam, though Suna itself boasted a few seal masters she had never heard of the technique before but could appreciate its ingenuity.

"Yep, the clan nearly died for their mastery in the art, so it makes sense they'd be pretty damn creative when it came to it." Naruto praised.

"It's my understanding that it was that creativity that lead to your clan's salvation." Temari said.

"I wouldn't call them my clan, but yeah they seam to be pretty awesome." Naruto replied, shifting his head back against the headrest again to close his eyes.

"Why do you say that? You are also Uzumaki after all." Temari said, confused as to why he denied the claim.

"Not exactly, I'm an orphan you see so when I was left in the care of the state at infancy they just guessed. And since no one ever showed up to prove them wrong or right I don't hold one way or the other, legally I'm an Uzumaki outcast but in reality, I'm just an orphan given a name." He said simply, his face upturned to the ceiling in a way that if his eyes were open he still would've missed the way Temari hugged herself.

"I couldn't imagine not having my family." She said, the thought saddened her that the one who had given her back her brother had no one to call his own.

"Eh, its not that bad. I never once walked in on my parents 'alone time'." He joked, his tired fingers coming up in air quotations that had Temari smile. She was about to reply when a short knocking came from the door before it opened and Gaara entered the room.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." He said, casting a side glace towards his sister and friend.

"Not at all." Naruto said from his chair, never opening his eyes. "I was just explaining the importance of adult relations to your sister." He said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, causing Temari to imitate a tomato and Gaara to simply raise a single brow.

"I see." Gaara said at length. "Well, I wanted to ask about the furniture in the hallway. Where they not satisfactory?"

"Ah no, they're fine. I just needed some space." Naruto said, bringing his head up from its respite.

"For what, if I may ask?" Gaara said, causing a devilish grin to sprout from Naruto as he looked Temari dead in the eye.

"The demonstration."

***][***

It was with a frustrated sigh that Sakura slipped into her night gown, the day hadn't gone the way she had hoped and what was worse was that her favorite tea house had been shut down for some reason. If it wasn't Ino, Sakura would have given up long ago. But just as her long-time friend hadn't let her lose it over some guy, neither would Sakura allow Ino to do the same.

But it was hard, while the blonde wasn't exactly hostile she wasn't very open either. She wouldn't tell Sakura anything and wouldn't even look at Sasuke who was only trying to help in his own, socially awkward way. While it did please the rosette that the blonde no longer held any interest for her man, it did bother her how Sasuke kept trying to touch her. She dismissed the idea and chalked it up to her just being paranoid. Sasuke loved her and he was just trying to help their friend, she shouldn't let her jealousy cloud her judgment.

Just as Sakura had sat down to brush out her hair when a sudden knock at her door diverted her attention. Looking at the clock she reassured herself that yes, it was ten o'clock at night. Not expecting any visitors, the doctor was notably cautious. Slipping on a pair of shorts under her nighty and a short robe over it all she approached the door with all the grace and precision befitting her dual roles as both surgeon and kunoichi. Cautiously, her arms and legs tense to propel her away from the door, she gazed through the small little window like peephole.

To her surprise she found a wildly groomed ponytail of blonde hair that belonged to her one-time best friend. Sakura quickly opened the door just as the other girl was about to ring the bell again.

At the opening of the door Sakura saw that Ino had dressed rather conservatively and humbly in a style similar to another heiress, her lithe form and curves was hidden beneath a layer of loose fitting fleece pajamas and a rather familiar/peculiar blue and orange sweater. Having seen her dressed similarly earlier, Sakura wasn't as shocked to see the once gregarious and flirty Yamanaka hiding her most prized possession that was her body.

"Hey." Sakura said, a bit surprised to see the blonde at her doorstep.

"ah, H-hi," Said the mildly skittish teen, looking as if she was torn between standing there or hauling ass down the hallway.

"What's up?" Sakura said openly, softly leaning against her door as she did her best not to scare off her friend. Ino looked reticent, as if she was on the fence of whether or not she wanted to do or say something. Her hands fidgeted in her long billowy sleeves in front of her as she shifted in place, her eyes shifting from her hands to the floor to down the hall and then back constantly.

Now Sakura didn't have to be a Yamanaka to tell something was wrong, but her training as a doctor prevented her from pushing her friend for information and instead let Ino work it out on her own.

Finally, Ino seamed to have come to a decision, as she inhaled a great gulp of air and sighed, a great bit of tension left her body as she exhaled but she was still nervous about something.

"We need to talk." Ino said, her eyes coming up with an edge of steel, causing Sakura to blink.

"Uh, ok." The rosette said, ushering her friend inside. "Is this about…"

"Naruto." Ino said as she sat herself down on the plain yellow couch. "Well…Naruto and I."

"Okay." Sakura said, sitting on the edge of her own chair, a soft pink recliner, with her arms crossed over the armrest closest to the couch with her legs crossed. "What about exactly?"

"Well…you see." Ino halted, as if grasping for the right words then debating about their use. "I…I kinda had…sex with him." She finished in barely a whisper.

Sakura blinked. Once, twice, three times before the words out of her friends mouth even registered and, when they did, she felt a number of things.

Anger for one thing, she was angry because she guessed that Naruto had done something despicable. Embarrassment, for the subject at hand and…though she wouldn't admit it, jealousy. It wasn't because her friend had lost her virginity, it wasn't because of some pettiness like that. It was because, after all those years of Naruto chasing after her taking beating after beating with nothing but love in his eyes for her that, deep inside, she thought she'd always be his special girl.

"Sa…"

She knew it was silly, she had what she wanted. Sasuke loved her and that was what mattered, they'd marry, have children, and grow old together. But what had she expected Naruto to do? Wait for her like some lost little puppy as she lived her life, bore another mans children, and then died in his arms while all the while there stood Naruto, lost and alone...waiting to die. Sakura felt a tinge of guilt because that was exactly the truth. That was the future she wanted, maybe that was why Sakura was fighting so hard for Ino to move on because she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that as soon as Naruto came home they'd be together again and his warmth would slowly recede. Leaving her to the cold embrace of Sasuke. She just never thought he would do that, but what Ino just said had cemented the fact that she was losing him. The only man who gave her his world.

"…Sakura."

It was Ironic, she knew. Without Sasuke she felt worthless, and without Naruto she felt empty, cold. Sasuke could never love the way that wonderful little idiot could, and Naruto could never be the man Sasuke was. She wanted her cake and to eat it to, she wanted the love of two but only one would ever know hers.

"Sakura say something!" Shouted Ino, breaking whatever spell had a hold of the rosette. Blearily Sakura noted the way tears had sprung in Ino's blue eyes, her silence must have scared her and Sakura…felt a little happy.

"I-I don't know what to say." Sakura said, leaning back in her chair.

"That I'm horrible, I didn't think about him at all." Ino said as she started to cry.

"Woah, woah, woah now what happened?" Sakura said, shoving back her own greedy thoughts as she tried to comfort her friend.

"I raped him!" Ino shouted, her face breaking even more. "It started out alright, it-it was wonderful. It was just innocent kisses at first but then…I got greedy. He told me to stop, that he wasn't ready, I didn't listen. I-I-I-I." the visibly upset blonde began to hyperventilate, her body shook, and tears rolled down her face.

"Shhh, Ino it's alright. Calm down." Sakura said as she migrated to the couch to hold the blonde comfortingly to her chest, stroking the girl's hair as she gently rocked back and forth in a soothing manner.

"I hit him. Over and over and over, I don't know why…but something came over me. I thought he enjoyed it, but all he did was scream even when he…came. I said so many horrible things" Ino murmured into her chest. "It was my first time and all I did was hurt him. I hoped it was just a bad dream,"

Sakura remained silent, something was off. Ino teased, Ino flirted, Ino cuddled. She didn't beat, she didn't demean, she hated the thought of pen raised chickens for god's sake! These things didn't sound like her friend at all, in fact…they were reminiscent of…someone else.

Hidden marks along Sakura's neck and thighs throbbed with realization.


	22. Unraveling

There is beauty in the desert. The warm tempered breeze that blew through the valley, the heat remaining in the sands that, when one's toes burrow inside, provide a beloved comfort to the frozen digits during the cold desert nights. But what Naruto enjoyed most of all was the weather. Back in Konoha the sun would hide behind the trees and only a sparse few specks of light would fight their way through the shield of green to fall upon the shaded city, making it so that the majority of the day was pleasantly chilled until around two or three in the afternoon when the sun finally fought its own way into the sky for a brief time until it disappeared once again behind the Hokage Rock. Once upon a time when Naruto was far more active in his agenda he enjoyed the relative coolness of the town and the chill of the forest, but shortly after returning to the city like village he soon discovered that the very same thing he enjoyed as a youth plagued his many scars. His arm ached in pain, both real and imagined, and the hardened flesh of scar tissue became tender to the touch. On the up side his burn enjoyed the heck out of it, but that was little comfort when it rained. However, here in the desert there were no trees to block out the sun and rain was sparse, so it was rare to find a pale face in Suna. The weather was warm and pleasant, at least in Naruto's opinion.

Time passed since he had arrived in Suna and Naruto found that he had little to do besides wander the city, work on his tan, and nap. Both Gaara and his sister had made it abundantly clear he was only here to relax and rejuvenate despite his shinobi status. Bless them, really. They had the best of intentions but Naruto could appreciate them if it weren't for the sheer amount of alone time he had on his hands. The sand siblings each had their own responsibilities that didn't revolve around caring for the runaway, he understood, but he hated all the time he had to think broken only by the odd dinner and sleep. Currently he was enjoying the latter, having set up a hammock atop the Subaku residencies' rooftop that he decided as his local for his midday nap when he wasn't perusing the city.

With the sun high in the sky, it was a nice, shady spot set between a wall and a pole that supported the awning over his head that he could manipulate at his leisure to cover the small hammock he had stretched out between the two far above the city below. Only the bare minimum knew where he was, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, and the awning was lowered so it came as a surprise when something wet landed on Naruto's forehead.

It started simple enough, a warm drop dripped onto his slowly bronzing skin and his consciousness softly began to stir beneath the umbral darkness of sleep as he slowly swam his way to the surface of his mind but not truly waking. A minute or so later a gentle mist settled onto his cheek and tempted him astir long enough for it to be dismiss as the merchandise of a rare desert shower. Brushing the wetness away, he sleepily tried to return to his nap, curling off his back and onto his side with gentle twisting motions, but a swift splatter hit him right in the face and forced him to angrily snap open his eyes, resolved to find the leak, and his blood ran cold.

Framed by the clear blue sky was the blood stained figure that had once haunted his dreams. Staring down at him from a foot away, was the horribly disfigured pantomime of Sakura. Her dull green eyes glowed with hate and her lip-less mouth grinned with gore stained teeth as spikes of wood and bone forced their way out of her skin, bits of tortured flesh pulled against the barbs in agony. Her hair was peppered with splinters and dyed scarlet, her pale skin glowed hauntingly beneath the blood soaked negligee that clung to her thin frame. The torn strap of a red bra hung from her shoulder next to her bloated and purple, wire wrapped neck, twisted as it was she loomed over him, a wicked and angry gleam in her eyes. Air sucked in the hollow of her nose, the loose flaps of skin fluttered with every intake and at exhale a fresh pink mist flew from her gaping maw. The fragrance of iron and death rolled from within.

With a scream, Naruto threw himself to the ground away from her, desperately pawing at his face to rid himself of what must've been her blood even before he slammed into the fading brown of the earthen roof. Each time he pulled away the dressing of his right hand came back a deeper darker shade of red and his left became slick with her lifeblood.

The world faded away as the caricature twisted her crooked body to follow him with her eyes as he crawled away, the limp locks of her hair draping towards the floor. A thick fog rolled in, quickly obscuring the world and beckoned a bitter chill that stung his eyes and numbed his skin. But still he refused to look away from the ghoul. Soon she stood as the only splotch of color in a dead, gray world where nothing existed except him and her. The crookedness of her body alarmed him, hunched forward, an arm hung akimbo at her side the wrist lolled back and jutting from its socket while one of her legs, swollen and purple, seemed to jut sharply off to the side from the knee in a manner that would buckle beneath its own weight but silently she stood, unwavering as the fog gently rolled beneath her. They stood that way, silently gauging one another amidst the pale, gray canvas the world around them had become, the cold causing his breath to freeze and his lungs to ache as if he had swallowed jagged glass, before suddenly with halting jerking steps she skittered towards him.

With a yelp he ran, crawling backwards on his hands and feet like a crab while she chased after him. Wildly reaching out with blackened fingers and rotted fingernails. Suddenly his hand lost traction and he crashed down upon something cold, colder than the fog that coalesced into daggers in his lungs, colder than the glare in the tepid green eyes of the horror that was now gone, vanished in a bloodstained dress. Immediately his back became soaked, freezing him to the bone as his clothes and skin began clinging closer to his flesh that lay prone.

Something wet dripped down his neck, causing him to squirm as it passed. His teeth now chattered so hard he felt them crack as a faint humming filled the air. It was a soft, familiar tune but it was so heavily distorted that he couldn't tell exactly what it was. It was almost if the source was lying in a drum in an empty room, its faint tune echoing and bouncing off the walls. No, it was more like it was submerged.

A faint trickling, gentle and near silent met his ears, like...he struggled to compare it...something softly and slowly rising from the depths of a pool, breaking the surface with its gentle rising.

Drip…

Wet fingers began to worm their way into his hair and his body began to shiver under their lulling ministrations.

Drip…

The faint desire to sleep bubbled up inside him his eyes grew heavy, a great weight pushed down upon him, driving him backwards into the cold wetness that slowly edged forward from his back as the distorted singing grew louder.

Drip…

Cold hands brushed through his hair, gently assuring him it was alright and he found the cool rivulets of water dripping down his face to be comforting as the dampness moved further over his body, slowly enveloping him to the gentle ministrations in his damp hair that slowly drew him from this world of fog.

Drip…

He could feel the hair on the back of his head shifting ever so slightly as if in the wind as his eyes drifted closed, a faint splotch of pink and twin pools green hidden amidst a puddle of redness in the low fog watched him as he softly slid away.

With a flash of curiosity, Naruto ever so softly tilted his head back. Using the last of his strength he hoped he could see the calming entity that drove away the ghoulish falsity that haunted him and beckoned him into its cool embrace. It was with humble, grateful curiosity that he turned his gaze upwards, but it was shear trembling, grating horror that wrenched a braying scream from his throat.

Naruto threw himself out of bed and hit the floor in a roll that brought him to his feet. The dim light of his chakra illuminated the room in the form of thick chains that poised themselves like stingers behind him. With his eye scanning the room Naruto found that he was alone and allowed his chains to slip back into his body after a few calming breaths.

His body was covered in sweat and the cold desert air made him shiver as it passed him by from the open window near his bed. His body trembling he lent against the wall and tried to further calm his thrashing heart.

The dream had felt so real, so damn real that he could still feel those cold fingers drifting through his hair. He tried to shake it off but even ten minutes of trying he determined that the only way he could was with a long and incredibly hot shower.

**][**

Temari did not expect to find the bathroom occupied at six in the morning. With her clothes for the day bundled under an arm she exited her room into the unusual dim light of the hallway which was normally dark at this time. She saw the faint outline of a door towards the end of the hall. It was strange, no one else was supposed to up at this hour. Kankuro was lucky to drag himself out of bed around noon, and Gaara had accustomed himself to as much sleep as possible as well unless otherwise roused.

Her unasked question was answered when the door was opened and a damp body walked through. Outlined in the light, Naruto caught sight of Temari just a moment or two after he stepped out. With him dressed in only a towel she could just barely make out the lines of his body and a particularly dark patch of skin on his shoulder before he noticed her. Not that she was hiding, but it seamed that he was buried in his thoughts. So deep that it took him a moment to even register the woman not ten feet in front of him, but when he did it took but just a fraction of a second for him to turn his body so that his prosthesis and the most damaged side of his body was out of sight. Poor kid.

"Good morning." He said, his voice slightly warped by the wall as the sound waves flowed along its side.

"Good morning." Temari replied, Standing nonchalantly in her simple cotton nightgown. "Wasn't expecting to see you up this early, anyone really." She added after stifling a yawn. Naruto's eye flicked down for a moment before he looked back towards her.

"Yeah well...I didn't really sleep good so..." He rubbed the back of his head, the light of the bathroom reflecting off his back. The sight of the bitter knot-work of crisscrossing scars had Temari stiffen, and forced the grogginess of sleep away from her mind. Naruto noticed this and hurriedly pushed past her before slipping into his room.

At the click of the door, Temari bit out a curse.

 _Stupid, Stupid, Stupid._ She shouldn't have frozen up, should've just ignored it and moved along. Instead she just stood there like a damn idiot. _Son of a bitch! Just had to go and make it awkward huh Temari._ Taking a deep breath she calmed herself as best she could, it wasn't really her fault and it wasn't his either. When she saw those marks all across his back all she could see was that stubborn little kid she met all those years ago, the one without fear or the deep lines of fatigue weighing down his spirit. It was hard to imagine that scarred and weary individual as that bright and boisterous kid from all those years ago, it was even harder to imagine what he must've gone through to make such a dramatic change.

Shaking off such thoughts, Temari entered the bathroom and roughly closed the door. Not quite a slam, but not gentle either. She tossed her change of clothes onto the sink and pulled off her gown. Standing there in her underwear she looked at herself, though years of active duty and training had left their mark she still had nowhere near the amount of scars that Naruto had. Her hands where that strange mix of callouses and softness that often marked a Kunoichi, strong but feminine, Her body was toned but plush in the same way. Twisting in the mirror she…

What the hell am I doing? She thought, catching herself as she admired the curve of her back. There's no way in hell I was just…But why? Brushing it off she peeled off her pale green underwear and hopped into the shower. Though her actions a moment earlier confused her, she had to admit she was quite attractive.

**][**

Temari, Now dressed for the day in a light beige dress with her mesh body armor underneath with short sleeves and shorts, was once again surprised after her shower when she entered the kitchen to find freshly brewed tea and Naruto nursing a cup. Looking around she saw that they where the only ones there.

"Before you even ask, Yes I made tea." Said Naruto as he blew on his own cup. He was, obviously, dressed as well and it was an outfit that was kinda a blast from the past. With his legs crossed at the ankle he sat dressed in his own mesh-mail shirt and dark blue cargo pants but upon his shoulders was a bright orange and black windbreaker with the bandages of his right arm peeking out from the sleeve.

Temari smirked, seamed not everything had changed. Though the jacket was mostly black it had two large panels of orange on the front separated by the zipper and two smaller sections on each side atop the color bone bordered by black on all sides.

"What?" Naruto asked noticing that smirk on her face.

"Nothing." She said. "Just figured you would've grown outta that color by now, being a serious ninja and all." Temari walked towards the table and began mixing her own cup of tea.

"Figurehead remember, People are supposed to know I'm here." He mocked slightly. He took a sip from his cup. "Plus, Orange Is Cool." He enunciated, turning his voice nasally and whipping his finger about the air. Temari snorted.

"I see your sense of humor's improved." She said as she hopped up on the counter, crossing her legs on over the other and sitting her cup next to her on the gray marble counter top.

"Not at all, you, simply developed one." Naruto retorted as he leaned back in his seat, jabbing his finger at her.

"Maybe." Temari said before she took a sip, and the two fell into a comfortable silence.

"Anyway..." Naruto began after a while, his demeanor turning sullen. "Listen, I'm sorry about earlier."

"Oh its fine, you ain't the first guy I've seen fresh out the shower. Or half naked." She added after some thought. Naruto looked nervous, his gaze flicked to the spot where his finger tapped the table.

"Yeah but…" Naruto tapered off, looking unsure of what to say. "It's…not all that pleasant."

"Look kid, you aren't ugly." Temari looked square at him, teacup in hand and sitting on the counter. "It just...it just took me for a loop is all. I didn't mean to stare but...all I could think about was that little kid all those years ago-" She paused a moment when Naruto gave a laugh. Not a self deprecating laugh, but one of hysterical disbelief that confused the hell out of Temari.

"Uh..Pardon?" Temari blinked incredulously as he laughed.

"Temari...he-he...How old do you think I am?" Naruto said, a smirk on his face.

"Well let's see, Konoha Shinobi usually graduate at twelve baring circumstance, its been a year since you came back…nearly six since I last saw you...soo...seventeen maybe eighteen." Temari shrugged, Naruto looked offended.

"Geeze, I know I was small for my age but damn." He said as he crossed his arms. "You seriously thought I was twelve?" He asked, his face said he was kinda hoping she was joking. Unfortunatly she wasn't.

"Uh huh. Why?" She didn't know what was so wrong with that, she didn't see what the big deal was.

"I was fifteen!" He said throwing his hands into the air with a small hop of his feet.

"No fucking way! You were so damn small, there's no way in hell you're as old as me!" Temari yelled, slamming down her hands and leaning so far off the counter it looked like she would fall off.

"Yes way!" Naruto hopped out his chair. "I'm probably even older than you!"

"What's your birthday?" Temari challenged, jumping from the counter and staring up at his 6' 2'' ass in defiance. The girl was 5'5'', a decent height for a girl but damn he was tall.

"October tenth." He replied, looming over her with a smirk.

"August 23." She smiled and advanced victoriously, stepping forward as Naruto's smirk vanished.

"Okay maybe not older than you, but I'm taller than you now. Heh." Naruto stuck out his tongue, which nearly poked Temari in the forehead.

"Wow, taller than a girl. How amazing!" Temari mocked placing her hands on her hips, unconsciously thrusting them forward.

"Oh shut it shortstop. You're just jealous." He grinned, the gold of his eyes pulsing in amusement.

"Pfft, as if. Jealous of a butt pirate." Temari replied. Naruto's eye widened in mock offense but the smirk on his lips spoke volumes.

"Oh butt pirate, hmm." Naruto tapped his chin before he lent over to the side to look behind her, his golden gaze glinting mischievously in the light. "Well, I do like the booty." He added with a toothy grin as his eye glowed. "I cant help it, its just so enticing. All I really wish to do is just reach out and **TAKE IT**."

Temari blushed, her face glowing as his right hand reached out. Inch by inch his hand drew closer to her backside, but she didn't mind. In fact she wanted him to touch it, to take it. Her mind began to fill with images of all that would entail, of what would happen when Naruto took her. Would he be rough? No, he wouldn't. Something deep inside her said that everything would be alright if she just gave herself to him. Mind, body, and…

"What's with all the damn yelling?!" Kankuro yelled from somewhere in the house, bringing the two out of their little world. Temari realized she was too close, she never realized she was inching towards him through their debacle and now she could fell his breath brush past her skin. Their little bubble of heat burst, and Temari took a step back but strangely Naruto looked more upset than she was. The gold in his eye faded, clenching his outstretched hand into a fist he returned it to his side before bolting out the door.

Temari watched him go, sensing the extreme agitation in his steps as he rushed out the door. She felt strangely, cold.

**][**

It was in the comfort of a beautiful afternoon that princess Koyuki found herself enjoying a fine cup of tea as her present company poured over a set of documents from his own side of the table. Dressed in dark gold and brown robes the aging Daimyo of fire's brow fluctuated from pinched concentration to mild wonder as he studied the papers. It was a simple trade agreement between the two, with a few clauses deftly put to allow only a minor inconvenience on her end so as to make the old man more malleable to the agreement. But Koyuki didn't mind, she would come out the victor in the end. Her country produced more metal and stone than they needed anyhow, and wood was at a premium in the once frozen tundra of Snow. It was a blessing that they could now afford to feed themselves thanks to the men in her life, rich farm lands had been uncovered beneath the ice and the snow melt had gathered into several massive reservoirs that became home to several dozen varieties of fish seeking respite from the harsh cold of the arctic seas. All in all things where going well for her piece of the world, which was why she could afford undercutting shipments of iron and steel to make this deal happen. Add in a few of their technological advancements and boom, practically signed already.

After taking a sip, happily at ease with the situation, she noticed that the Daimyo had just looked up from the contract from over his glasses.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked, setting her tea down after seeing his raised brow and questioning gaze.

"With the deal itself? No. As a matter of fact I feel compelled to discourage how one sided it is for your country." He said, noting how much better the deal was for him than for her.

"While I appreciate your concern, I must say that it is completely unnecessary on your part. I assume I am not the only supplier of metal and such in the world with their eye on your timber, I am merely sweetening the pot as it were." Koyuki said, calmly assuring the old man as she reclaimed her still warm cup.

"Be that as it may, I have lived through three world wars and I understand the value of a fair deal. I insist you raise the price by twelve percent or I will lower by that amount." He said sternly, obviously set in his decision, not that Koyuki could fault him wars had been started for less.

"Why thank you Hizuno-dono, your generosity knows no bounds." The former actress said with a grateful bow of her head while raising her cup. She had been prepared to take a deficit on this one if she had to, but it seems that the old lord had more honor than she supposed. It wasn't as if she needed the money, the many trade deals both she and her uncle had made in the past few years have been paying off quite wonderfully she could afford to cut back a little.

"Hmph." Hizuno huffed, dropping his eyes to the papers for a moment. "Just an old man taking precautions, think nothing of it. However I do in fact have a question about a certain stipulation in said agreement."

Koyuki's eyes snapped upwards from her tea and focused on the old man. She had known this was coming, her heart pulsed rapidly and sweat appeared on her hands but she softened her gaze and schooled her features, calming her heart before Hizuno turned his attention back to her. This had been the crux of the agreement, the whole reason it was drafted up to begin with. Everything hinged on their next exchange, her hopes, her dreams, and most importantly, Naruto's sanity.

**][**

 _ **Sorry it took so long guys, I've been dealing with some technical difficalties for a while now. Please review and tell me if it was worth the wait, tell me your thoughts and I shall show you my dreams.**_


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